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THE  INTELLIGENCE  OF 
HIGH  SCHOOL  SENIORS 


AS   REVEALED   BY 


A  STATE-WIDE  MENTAL  SURVEY  OF 
INDIANA  HIGH  SCHOOLS 


BY 


WILLIAM   F.    BOOK 

PROFESSOR  OF   EDUCATIONAL  PSYCHOLOGY 

AND  DIRECTOR  OF  THE   PSYCHOLOGICAL   LABORATORY 

INDIANA  UNIVERSITY 


THE  MACMILLAN   COMPANY 
1922 

4#  rights  reserve^ 


PRINTED  IN  THE   UNITED  STATES   OF  AMERICA 


COPTBIOHT,    1922, 

BY  THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY. 


Set  up  and  electrotyped.    Published  January,  1922. 


Nottooofc  \Sttse 

J.  S.  Gushing  Co.  —  Berwick  &  Smith  Co. 
Norwood,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 


3T  0,  1  S 


Education 
Library 

1-5 
1131 


TO  THE  MEMORY 

OF 

MARY  ROACH  BOOK 


854002 


PREFACE 

AMONG  the  contributions  that  the  humanistic  sciences 
have  made  to  twentieth  century  civilization  the  method 
and  technique  of  the  survey  stand  preeminent.  By  sur- 
vey is  meant  the  measurement  of  group  traits  —  physical, 
social,  economic,  psychological  —  the  quantitative  expres- 
sion of  the  amounts  of  these  traits  found  among  the  mem- 
bers of  any  group,  and  the  distribution  of  such  traits 
among  members  of  the  group.  The  survey  has  been 
used  in  the  study  of  many  varieties  of  group  life  — 
schools,  social  communities  (urban  and  rural),  industrial 
and  mercantile  establishments,  and  such  particular  classes 
of  individuals  as  moral  delinquents,  for  example,  and  the 
feebleminded. 

As  a  result  of  these  surveys  much  light  has  been  thrown 
upon  the  physical,  social,  economic,  and  psychological 
status  of  groups  in  which  society  is  greatly  interested. 
We  have  discovered  the  true  conditions  existing  in  a 
number  of  fields  and  have  adopted  intelligent  means  of 
improving  them,  such  as  suitable  housing  of  the  poor, 
sane  and  curative  treatment  of  criminals,  and  the  classifi- 
cation of  school  children  and  college  students  into  homo- 
geneous groups  for  special  educational  treatment. 

In  all  these  social  reforms  psychological  tests  have 
played  a  very  large  and  ever  increasing  part.  Though  only 
a  few  years  old,  they  have  been  so  serviceable  in  the 
improvement  of  various  classes  and  conditions  of  mankind 
that  when  the  officials  in  charge  of  the  education  of  the 

vii 


viii  PREFACE 

youth  of  the  commonwealth  of  Indiana  wished  to  discover 
the  intellectual  standing  of  the  high  school  students  of  the 
state  with  a  view  to  providing  better  means  for  the  conserva- 
tion and  development  of  individual  capacities  and  talents, 
they  chose  the  psychological  test  as  their  most  efficient  tool. 

The  chief  purpose  of  the  book  is  to  present  in  as  clear 
and  concise  a  manner  as  possible  the  facts  obtained  from 
a  rather  extensive  study  of  the  intelligence  of  high  school 
seniors  and  to  point  out  the  significance  that  these  facts 
have,  not  merely  for  educators,  social  workers,  and  business 
men,  but  for  all  persons  interested  in  the  conservation  and 
cultivation  of  the  human  resources  of  the  state. 

In  presenting  these  facts  we  have  tried  to  devise  a 
method  that  would  be  not  merely  adequate  and  reliable 
for  our  purpose,  but  clear  and  intelligible  to  laymen,  and 
adapted  for  use  in  similar  surveys.  We  have  tried  to 
show  by  an  actual  example  how  extensive  mental  surveys 
may  be  conducted  and  to  illustrate  a  method  of  handling 
and  presenting  the  results,  which  may  be  helpful  to  those 
contemplating  similar  surveys  of  the  human  resources  of 
a  community  or  school. 

The  results  of  the  survey  have  proved  of  more  than 
local  significance. 

1 .  They  are  of  interest  to  educators  of  all  communities, 
who,  believing  in  individualized  instruction,  desire  to 
inaugurate  a  regime  under  which  they  may  seek  out  the 
peculiar  needs  and  capacities  of  each  pupil  and  adapt 
education  thereto.  The  book  is,  therefore,  well  adapted 
for  use  in  teachers'  study  clubs  and  for  classes  in  mental 
measurements. 


PREFACE  ix 

2.  They  will  interest  social  workers  who  see  that  the 
social  welfare  of  the  individual  and  the  state  is  closely 
wrapped  up  with  intellectual  endowment,  educational  op- 
portunity, and  the  rapport  between  the  two. 

3.  They  will  interest  thoughtful  men  in  business  and 
industry  who  see  that  the  solution  of  human  problems  in 
the  industrial  world  is  intertwined  with  the  factors  dealt 
with  in  this  book. 

To  all  these  it  is  hoped  that  the  general  method  of  this 
survey  and  the  results  obtained  will  prove  helpful  for  the 
solution  of  many  of  the  problems  that  confront  them. 

The  study  was  made  with  the  authority  and  full  co- 
operation and  aid  of  the  Indiana  State  Board  of  Education, 
which  printed  the  examiner's  guide  and  all  blanks  used 
to  obtain  detailed  reports  from  individual  schools.  The 
Board  also  furnished  the  postage  and  clerical  help  required 
to  arrange  for  the  giving  of  the  tests  and  for  collecting  the 
data.  The  Department  of  Psychology  at  Indiana  Uni- 
versity prepared  the  intelligence  scale  used  in  the  survey, 
furnished  all  the  test  materials,  bearing  also  the  expense 
of  making  the  tabulations. 

Arrangements  with  teachers  and  high  school  principals 
for  conducting  the  mental  examinations  were  made  by 
Oscar  H.  Williams,  at  that  time  High  School  Inspector 
for  Indiana.  He  also  collected  through  his  office  the 
returns  from  individual  schools.  More  than  five  hundred 
teachers,  high  school  principals,  and  superintendents  took 
part  in  making  the  survey.  The  author  wishes,  therefore, 
to  take  this  first  opportunity  of  acknowledging  his  great 
indebtedness  to  them  for  their  interest,  cooperation, 


X  PREFACE 

and  personal  help,  and  desires  to  thank  the  State  Board 
of  Education  and  its  president,  L.  N.  Hines,  for  their 
cooperation  and  financial  assistance.  It  is  only  through 
such  cooperative  work  that  our  most  important  educa- 
tional problems  can  be  investigated  and  eventually  solved. 

The  author  is  indebted  largely  to  the  advice  and  en- 
couragement of  friends  for  whatever  merit  this  work 
possesses.  Dr.  S.  L.  Pressey,  Research  Assistant  in  the 
Department  of  Psychology,  Indiana  University,  prepared 
and  verified  the  intelligence  scale  used  in  the  survey. 
H.  G.  Childs,  Professor  of  Secondary  Education  and  H.  D. 
Kitson,  Professor  of  Psychology,  at  Indiana  Univer- 
sity, read  the  entire  manuscript  and  have  given  helpful 
criticisms.  Without  the  cooperation,  encouragement,  and 
assistance  of  Mr.  Oscar  H.  Williams,  State  Supervisor  of 
Teacher  Training,  this  study  could  not  have  been  under- 
taken or  finished.  Mr.  Williams  not  only  sensed  from 
the  beginning  the  practical  value  and  importance  of  the 
survey,  but  was  chiefly  responsible  for  interesting  the 
State  Board  of  Education  and  the  school  officials  of  the 
state  in  the  survey.  He  helped  plan  the  study,  write 
the  examiner's  guide,  and  prepare  the  report  blanks  and 
special  helps  for  teachers.  He  also  read  the  entire  manu- 
script and  in  ways  too  numerous  to  mention  has  given 
valuable  assistance  throughout  the  study. 

Such  extensive  and  hearty  cooperation,  rare  as  it  is, 
augurs  well  for  the  future  of  cooperative  research  of  the 
type  recommended  and  urged  in  this  book. 

INDIANA  UNIVERSITY 
March  1,  1921 


CONTENTS 
PART  I 

PURPOSE,  METHOD,  AND  SCOPE  OF  THE  SURVEY 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.     AIMS  OP  THE  SURVEY 1 

1.  Location  of  Seniors  of  Superior  Ability      .         .  1 

2.  College  Intentions  of  This  Superior  Group  .         .  3 

3.  Educational  Direction  of  the  Brightest  Seniors    .  3 

4.  Are  the  High  Schools  and  Colleges  Fully  Con- 

serving  this   Exceptional    Group   of   Young 
People? 4 

5.  Native  Mental  Endowment  and  School  Success  .        4 

6.  Kind    and   Amount    of   Vocational    Direction 

Needed  .         .         .         .         .  5 

7.  Democratic  Appeal  of  the  High  School    .        .        6 

8.  Mental  Capacity  of  Seniors  Coming  from  Differ- 

ent Occupational  and  Economic  Classes        .        7 

9.  Differences  between  Sections,  Communities,  and 

Individual  Schools 8 

10.   Sex    Differences.     The    Intelligence    of    Senior 

Boys  and  Girls  Compared     ....        8 

II.     MATERIALS  AND  METHOD 10 

1.  Intelligence  Scale  Used 10 

2.  Method  of  Giving  the  Intelligence  Tests    .         .  12 

3.  Scope  of  the  Survey  and  Nature  of  the  Results  .  14 

PART  II 

RESULTS 

.  III.     INTELLIGENCE  OF  HIGH  SCHOOL  SENIORS          .        .      18 
^ 

1.  Their  General  Level  of  Intelligence    ...       18 

2.  Range  of  Intelligence  Shown      ....       19 


xii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

3.  Number  of  Seniors  at  the  Various  Intelligence 

Levels 23 

4.  Probable   Value   of   These   Several   Grades   of 

Intelligence 23 

IV.    INTELLIGENCE  OP  HIGH  SCHOOL  SENIORS  GOING  TO 

COLLEGE 27 

1.  General   Level   of   Intelligence   of  the   Seniors 

Going  to  College 29 

2.  Number  of  Seniors  Going  to  College  Who  Score  at 

Various  Intelligence  Levels     ....       32 

3.  College  Intentions  of  the  Brightest  and  Dullest 

High  School  Seniors  in  the  State     ...      36 

4.  General  Summary  of  Facts         ....       39 

5.  Discussion  and  Interpretation  of  Results    .         .       40 
a.   Readjustments  Needed          .         .         .        .41 
6.   Practical  Value  and  Need  of  the  Mental  Survey     42 

V.  INTELLIGENCE  OF  SENIORS  WHO  HAVE  BEEN  AC- 
CELERATED, RETARDED,  AND  REGULARLY 
PROMOTED  BY  THE  SCHOOL  ....  46 

1.  Number  of  Seniors  Accelerated,  Retarded,  and 

Normally  Advanced  by  the  School   ...       48 

2.  Number  of  Seniors  with  Superior,  Average,  and 

Inferior  Grades  of  Intelligence        .         .         .51 

3.  Intelligence  of  Seniors  Whom  the  School  has  Ac- 

celerated, Retarded,  and  Regularly  Promoted  .       54 

a.  General  Level  of  Intelligence  of  Each  Group  .       56 

b.  Grades  of  Intelligence   Possessed   by  Each 

of  these  Groups 59 

c.  Range    of    Intelligence     Possessed     by    the 

Seniors  Whom  the  School  Has  Accelerated, 

Retarded,  and  Regularly  Promoted     .         .  64 

d.  Brightest  Seniors  Not  "Doubly  Promoted"  66 

4.  Sex  Differences 72 

5.  General  Summary  of  Facts         ....  83 

6.  Discussion  and  Interpretation  of  Results   .         .  86 


CONTENTS  xiii 

CHAPTER 

VI.  INTELLIGENCE  OF  SENIORS  MAKING  EXCELLENT, 
AVERAGE,  AND  POOR  SCHOLASTIC  RECORDS 
IN  THEIR  HIGH  SCHOOL  WORK  93 

1.  General  Level  of   Intelligence  for  the  Various 

Scholastic  Groups 96 

2.  Range  of  Intelligence  for  the   Seniors   Rated 

Excellent,  Average,  and  Poor  in  Their  High 
School  Work 99 

3.  Frequency  of  Different  Grades  of  Intelligence 

among  the  Seniors  Belonging  to  Each  Scholas- 
tic Group 100 

4.  Correlation  between  the  Intelligence  of  High 

School  Seniors  and  Their  School  Success          .     103 

5.  Why  an  Intelligence  Score  Is  Inadequate  for 

Prognosticating  School  Success       .        .         .     108 

6.  General  Summary  and  Discussion  of  Results      .     109 

VII.  INTELLIGENCE   OF   SENIORS   SELECTING   DIFFERENT 

OCCUPATIONAL  CAREERS     .        .        .        .113 

1.  Intelligence  of  Students  Who  Had  Selected  a  Life 

Occupation  Contrasted  and  Compared  with 

the  Intelligence  of  the  Group  Who  Had  Not .     116 

2.  Intelligence  of  Seniors  Selecting  Different  Occu- 

pational Careers 122 

a.  General  Level  of  Intelligence  for  the  Several 

Occupational  Groups  .  .  .  .123 
6.  Occupations  Selected  by  the  Brightest  and 

Dullest  Seniors 126 

c.  Number  in  Each  Occupational  Group  Scoring 

at  Various  Intelligence  Levels     .        .        .     130 

3.  Extent  to  Which  High  School  Seniors  are  Pre- 

paring for  the  Life  Occupations  Chosen  .        .     134 

4.  General  Summary  and  Discussion  of  Results      .     139 

VIII.  INTELLIGENCE    OF    SENIORS    PURSUING    DIFFERENT 

COURSES  IN  HIGH  SCHOOL     ....     143 
1.   General   Level   of   Intelligence   of   the   Seniors 

Completing  Each  Type  of  High  School  Course     144 


XIV  CONTENTS 


2.  Range  of  Intelligence  of  Seniors  Pursuing  Differ- 

ent Courses 146 

3.  Number  of  Students  Pursuing  Different  Courses 

Who  Score  at  Each  Intelligence  Level     .         .     149 

4.  High  School  Courses  Pursued  by  the  Students 

Which  the  School  Had  Accelerated  and  Re- 
tarded      149 

5.  High  School  Course  Sending  Most  Students  to 

College 153 

6.  Effect  of  High  School  Course  on  Choice  of  Col- 

lege and  the  Selection  of  a  College  Course    .     154 

7.  General  Summary  of  Results      ....     156 


IX.    INTELLIGENCE  OF  SENIORS  PREFERRING  DIFFERENT 

HIGH  SCHOOL  SUBJECTS         ....     159 

1.  General  Level  of  Intelligence  of  Seniors  Selecting 

Different  Favorite  Studies      .         .        .         .160 

2.  Studies  Preferred  by  the  Brightest  and  Dullest 

Seniors 162 

3.  Number  of  Students  in  Each   Favorite-subject 

Group  Ranking  at  the  Various  Intelligence 
Levels 166 

4.  Sex  Differences 168 

5.  Effect  of  Favorite  Study  upon  the  Choice  of  an 

Occupation 174 

6.  Influence    of    Favorite    Study    upon    College 

Intention 176 

7.  General  Summary  of  Results      ....     177 

8.  Discussion  .         .         .         .181 


X.    INTELLIGENCE   OF   HIGH   SCHOOL   SENIORS   REPRE- 
SENTING DIFFERENT  OCCUPATIONAL  CLASSES     185 

1.  Occupational  Groups  Represented  in  the  Senior 

Classes  of  Indiana  High  Schools     .         .         .     186 

2.  Number  of  High  School  Seniors  Belonging  to 

Each  Occupational  Class        «...     187 


CONTENTS  XV 


3.  Intelligence  of  Seniors  Belonging  to  each  Occu- 

pational Class 189 

a.   General    Level  of  Intelligence  of   the  Sen- 
iors  Representing  Different  Occupational 

Classes 190 

&.  Distribution,    in    the    Several    Occupational 

Groups,  of  the  Brightest  and  Dullest  Seniors     194 
c.  Number  of  Seniors  Representing  the  Several 
Occupational  Groups  who  Scored  at  Each 
Intelligence  Level 198 

4.  Sex  Differences 201 

5.  General  Summary 203 

6.  Discussion  of  Results          .....     205 

XI.     INTELLIGENCE    OF   HIGH    SCHOOL   SENIORS   REPRE- 
SENTING DIFFERENT  ECONOMIC  CLASSES        .     209 

1.  General  Level  of  Ability  of  the  Seniors  Belong- 

ing to  Different  Economic  Groups   .        .         .211 

2.  Location  of  the  Brightest  Seniors       .         .         .     213 

3.  Number  of  Seniors  in  Each  Economic  Group  Who 

Score  at  the  Various  Intelligence  Levels  .         .217 

4.  Summary  of  Results 219 

XII.    INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS   COMING 

FROM  DIFFERENT  COMMUNITIES  AND  SCHOOLS  .    221 

1.  From  Schools  of  Different  Sizes  or  Ranks   .         .     224 

2.  From    the    Northern,    Central,   and    Southern 

Sections  of  the  State 228 

3.  From  Rural  and  City  High  Schools    .         .         .234 

4.  From  Schools  Located  in  Purely  Agricultural, 

Manufacturing,  and  Mining  Communities      .     238 

5.  From  the  Best  and  Worst  Economic  Sections 

of  the  State 241 

6.  From  Individual  Schools  of  the  Same  Size  or 

Rank 243 

7.  From  Individual  Schools  Located  in  the  Same 

City  or  County 252 


XVI  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

8.  Distribution  of  Different  Grades  of  Intelligence 

in  Individual  Schools 254 

9.  Geographical  Distribution  of  the  Best  Intellec- 

tually Endowed  High  School  Seniors  Found  in 

the  State 258 

10.   General  Summary  and  Discussion  of  Results       .  260 

a.  Community  and  Sectional  Differences    .         .  260 

6.   Differences  between  Individual  Schools          .  263 

XIII.  SEX    DIFFERENCES,    OR    INTELLIGENCE    OF    SENIOR 

•    BOYS  AND  GIRLS  COMPARED          .        .        .  269 

1.  Differences  in  Native  Mental  Endowment          .  270 

2.  Differences  in  College  Intention          .         .         .  273 

3.  Differences  in  School  Success      ....  276 

a.  Scholastic  Rating  of  the  Sexes  Compared      .  276 

b.  Acceleration  and  Retardation  for  Each  Sex  .  278 

4.  Differences  in  Vocational  Interest       .         .        .  280 

5.  Differences  in  Scholastic  Interest        .         .         .  282 

6.  Differences  between  the  Boys  and  Girls  Repre- 

senting Various  Occupational  and  Economic 

Classes 286 

a.  Occupational  Groups 286 

6.   Economic  Groups 287 

7.  Sex  Differences  in  Different  Communities  and 

Individual  Schools 289 

8.  Discussion 289 

PART  III 

GENERAL  CONCLUSIONS  AND  DISCUSSION  OF 
RESULTS 

XIV.  SITUATION  REVEALED  BY  THE  MENTAL  SURVEY       .    293 

1.  High  School  Seniors  a  Highly  Selected  Group   .     293 

2.  Individual     Differences    among    High    School 

Seniors 295 

3.  Distribution  of  Seniors  with  the  Most  Superior 

Grade  of  Intelligence 295 


CONTENTS  xvii 


4.  Special  Abilities  of  Brightest  Seniors  Not  Fully 

Conserved 296 

5.  Brightest  Seniors  Not  Going  to  College      .         .     298 

6.  Ablest  Students  Not  Located  by  the  High  School    301 

7.  Vocational  Needs  of  Individuals  and  State  Not 

Adequately  Met 302 

8.  Individual  Differences  in  Vocational  and  Scho- 

lastic Interests 304 

9.  American  High  School  Not  Truly  Democratic  .     305 

10.  High  School  Better  Adapted  to  the  Interests 

and  Needs  of  the  Girls 307 

11.  Class,  School,  and  Community  Differences  Im- 

portant    308 

12.  Intelligence  No  Guarantee  of  School  Success    .     309 

XV.  READJUSTMENTS  AND  REFORMS  SUGGESTED  BY  THE 
SURVEY  :  THE  CONSERVATION  OF  HUMAN 
CAPACITIES  AND  TALENTS  .  .  .  .311 

1.  Change  Needed  in  Our  Point  of  View         .         .     312 

2.  Talents  of  the  Best  Should  Be  Especially  Culti- 

vated and  Conserved 315 

3.  All  Types  and  Grades  of  Mental  Ability  Im- 

portant    317 

4.  American  Schools  and  Colleges  Should  Be  Made 

More  Democratic  320 

5.  Better  Provisions  Should  Be  Made  for  Vocational 

Training 322 

6.  Need  for  Better  Educational  and  Vocational 

Guidance 323 

7.  Group  and  Community  Differences  Should  Be 

Recognized     .         .         .  .         .         .     328 

8.  New   Method   Needed   for   Evaluating   School 

Accomplishment 329 

XVI.    VALUE  AND  USES  OF  INTELLIGENCE  TESTS  AND  THE 

MENTAL  SURVEY 331 

1.   Making  Individual  Diagnoses  for  Grade  Classifi- 
cation and  for  Educational  Guidance  333 


XV111  CONTENTS 


a.  Locating  the  Brightest  Pupils  in  any  Class, 
Grade,  School  or  Group  for  Special  Edu- 
cational Treatment 333 

6.  Prognosticating  School  Success      .        .         .     334 

c.  Vocational  Guidance 336 

d.  Educational  Diagnosis  and  Direction    .         .     337 

e.  Determining  the  Causes  of  Failure  in  School  .     338 

2.  Determining  the  Success  or  Adjustment  of  a 

School  to  Individual  Differences     .         .         .     339 

3.  Making  Group  Diagnoses  to  Determine  Mental 

Differences  between  Classes,  Grades,  Schools, 
and  Groups 340 

4.  Intelligence   Tests   Needed   to    Evaluate    and 

Measure  School  Accomplishment    .        .         .     342 

5.  Making  Social  and  Community  Surveys    .         .     343 
a.   Location  and  Treatment  of  Moral   Delin- 
quents         343 

6.  Location  and  Treatment  of  the  Feeble- 
minded   344 

6.  Conserving  Human  Talents  and  Capacities  in 

Business  and  Industry 345 

7.  The  Mental  Survey  and  Social  Service       .         .     346 

XVII.     NEED    FOR    COOPERATIVE    AND    SYSTEMATIC     RE- 
SEARCH IN  THE  HUMANISTIC  SCIENCES  .        .  348 

1.  Need  for  Cooperation 348 

2.  Value  of  Organized  Effort  in  Research       .         .  349 

3.  R61e  to  be  Played  by  Colleges  and  Universities  .  350 

4.  Need  for  Financial  Support        .        .         .         .351 

5.  Intelligence  Scales  and  Materials  Now  Available 

for    Making    Such    Systematic    School    and 

Community  Surveys 351 

6.  New  Science  of  Human  Engineering  Possible    .  353 

7.  Conclusion  ....  354 


THE  INTELLIGENCE   OF 
HIGH  SCHOOL  SENIORS 


THE  INTELLIGENCE  OF  HIGH 
SCHOOL   SENIORS 


PART  I 


CHAPTER  I 
AIMS  OF  THE  SURVEY 

IN  making  this  state-wide  mental  survey  1  of  high  school 
seniors  the  writer  had  in  mind  certain  definite  purposes  and 
problems  to  guide  him  in  the  collection  of  data  and  in  the 
organization  and  interpretation  of  the  results. 

1.  Location  of  the  ablest  seniors.  The  original  and 
chief  purpose  of  the  study  was  to  locate  by  means  of  reliable 
intelligence  tests  the  ablest  students  graduating  from  the 
high  schools  of  the  state  during  the  year,  and  to  suggest 
means  whereby  they  might  be  definitely  encouraged  to 
attend  college  and,  if  need  be,  aided  financially  so  that 
they  might  continue  their  education  beyond  the  high 
school  stage.  The  study  was  planned  and  carried  to 
completion  on  the  theory  that  all  high  school  graduates 

1  Planned  and  made  in  collaboration  with  Oscar  H.  Williams,  State 
Supervisor  of  Teacher  Training  for  Indiana,  Indianapolis,  Indiana. 

1 


2      INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH  SCHOOL  SENIORS 

who  possess  exceptional  mental  endowment  should  be 
definitely  located  and  encouraged  to  continue  their  educa- 
tion in  a  college  or  university. 

Nothing  contributes  more  directly  to  the  progress  of 
society  and  the  state  than  the  conservation  and  proper  cul- 
tivation of  the  mental  capacities  and  abilities  of  the  most 
gifted  individuals  belonging  to  each  succeeding  generation. 
It  is  these  superior  individuals  who  become  the  leaders  of 
the  race,  in  government,  in  industry,  in  religion,  in  science, 
and  in  art.  Their  abilities  should,  therefore,  be  carefully 
conserved  and  fully  cultivated. 

A  few  attempts  have  been  made  by  colleges  and  univer- 
sities to  attract  and  serve  this  special  group  of  individuals. 
Some  universities  are  giving  mental  tests  to  those  who  pre- 
sent themselves  for  admission  and  are  using  the  results  of 
such  tests  as  a  basis  for  the  selection  of  students.  All 
colleges  eliminate  in  the  freshman  year  large  numbers  of 
students  who  are  not  able  or  willing  to  profit  by  the  college 
work.  Such  methods  enable  the  colleges  to  select  and  re- 
tain the  best  young  people  who  actually  apply  for  admis- 
sion. They  can  never  become  an  effective  means  for  locat- 
ing and  selecting  the  most  intelligent  individuals  unless 
these  superior  individuals  actually  present  themselves  for 
admission  to  college.  But  by  giving  an  intelligence  test 
to  all  high  school  seniors  just  before  graduation  from  high 
school,  it  should  be  possible  not  merely  to  locate  all  in- 
dividuals eligible  for  college  who  possess  the  highest  grades 
of  intelligence,  but  we  should  be  in  a  position  to  encourage 
and  help  them  complete  their  education  and  thus  develop 
for  the  state  their  superior  capacities  and  talents. 


AIMS  OF  THE   SURVEY  3 

2.  College  intentions  of  this  superior  group.    It  was 
planned,  in  the  second  place,  to  ascertain  to  what  extent 
the  colleges  are   now  reaching   these  exceptionally  en- 
dowed individuals.    Arrangements  were  made,  therefore, 
to  ascertain  among  other  things  the  exact  college  inten- 
tions of  each  student  graduating  from  the  high  schools 
of  the  state,  in  order  that  we  might  determine  whether  or 
not  the  colleges  were  attracting  the  high  school  seniors 
who  possess  the  highest  grades  of  intelligence.    We  de- 
sired to  obtain,  by  making  a  comparison  of  the  intelli- 
gence scores  of  those  actually  going  to  college  and  those 
not  planning  to  attend,  some  idea  of  the  mental  strength 
of  the  young  people  whom  our  colleges  actually  attract. 

3.  Educational  direction  of  the  brightest  seniors.    It 
was  also  believed  that  a  reliable  intelligence  rating  would 
greatly  aid  deans  and  college  faculties  in  directing  the  edu- 
cational work  of  freshmen  students.     It  is  an  indisputable 
fact  that  students  with  superior  mental  ability  often  do 
only  average  or  even  inferior  work  in  college.     Students 
of  meager  or  inferior  ability,  on  the  other  hand,  are  often 
expected  by  their  instructors  to  do  a  superior  grade  of 
work.     To  give  college  authorities  information  along  this 
line,  high  school  principals  were  asked  to  have  the  intelli- 
gence score  made  by  each  senior  student  recorded  on  the 
permanent  school  records  and  sent  with  his  scholarship 
standing  to  the  college  authorities,  if  the  senior  expected 
to  attend  college,  or  to  his  prospective  employer  if  he  in- 
tended to  go  to  work.     In  this  way  college  authorities 
would  secure  some  idea  at  least  of  the  grade  of  work  that 
might  reasonably  be  expected  from  each  freshman  student. 


4      INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH  SCHOOL  SENIORS 

Such  intelligence  ratings  would  also  give  university  author- 
ities the  necessary  data  for  determining  whether  the  appli- 
cant for  admission  to  college  had  sufficient  mental  ability 
to  profit  by  a  college  course.  The  purpose  and  advantages 
of  this  plan  were  carefully  explained  to  the  members  of 
each  senior  class  when  the  tests  were  given. 

4.  Extent  to  which  the  high  schools  and  colleges  are 
conserving  the  mental  capacities  of  this  exceptional  group 
of  young  people.  A  fourth  purpose  in  making  this  inves- 
tigation was  to  collect  facts  that  would  assist  in  determin- 
ing the  extent  to  which  the  high  schools  of  the  state  are 
succeeding  in  adapting  their  work  to  the  mental  strength, 
interests,  and  needs  of  this  exceptional  group  of  young 
people.  Are  the  special  capacities  and  mental  abilities 
of  these  exceptional  students  being  properly  cultivated 
and  conserved  ?  This  we  hoped  to  ascertain  by  a  study 
of  the  scholastic  records  made  in  the  past  by  the  entire 
group  of  seniors  taking  the  tests ;  by  a  study  of  the  extent 
to  which  they  had  been  accelerated,  retarded,  or  normally 
promoted  by  the  school;  and  by  a  study  of  their  chief 
scholastic  and  vocational  interests  as  indicated  by  their 
favorite  study  in  high  school  and  by  their  choice  of  an 
occupation. 

6.  Native  mental  endowment  and  school  success.  It 
was  further  desired  to  study  in  this  investigation  the  rela- 
tion that  exists  between  native  mental  capacity  or  ability 
to  learn  and  the  scholastic  success  of  the  special  senior 
groups  examined.  We  desired  to  determine  the  extent  to 
which  native  mental  endowment  is  indicative  of  actual 
performance  or  success  in  school  and  to  know  whether  the 


AIMS  OF  THE   SURVEY  5 

brightest  seniors  also  made  the  best  scholastic  record  in 
high  school.  In  a  word,  to  study  carefully  the  relation 
that  exists  between  the  intelligence  of  high  school  seniors 
as  indicated  by  the  mental  test  scores,  and  the  success 
they  achieved  in  then*  high  school  work  as  shown  by  the 
average  school  marks  obtained  in  all  subjects  studied  dur- 
ing the  junior  year.  An  exact  correlation  between  these 
two  conditions  was  determined  and  a  study  made  of  the 
factors,  other  than  intelligence,  that  contribute  to  an  indi- 
vidual's success  in  school.  To  get  data  or  material  on  this 
problem  we  studied  the  records  made  by  these  seniors  in 
high  school,  and  we  are  now  studying  their  intelligence 
scores  as  related  to  the  scholarship  record  they  are  making 
in  college. 

6.  Kind  and  amount  of  vocational  direction  needed. 
One  of  the  most  important  factors  in  the  conservation  and 
proper  cultivation  of  the  mental  capacities  of  this  group 
of  superior  young  people  is  directing  them  toward  the  work 
in  life  that  is  best  suited  to  their  mental  strength  and  in 
harmony  with  their  native  interests.  We  desired,  there- 
fore, in  this  study  not  merely  to  get  facts  that  would  aid 
college  and  university  authorities  in  directing  their  young 
people  toward  lines  of  work  well  suited  to  their  mental 
strength  and  in  harmony  with  their  special  capacities 
and  interests,  but  to  ascertain  the  degree  to  which  the  high 
schools  of  the  state  were  actually  succeeding  in  their  solu- 
tion of  this  problem. 

It  was  believed  that  a  reliable  intelligence  rating  would 
be  helpful  to  school  and  college  faculties  in  giving  their 
students  wiser  vocational  guidance  while  they  were  being 


6      INTELLIGENCE  OF  HIGH  SCHOOL  SENIORS 

trained  for  the  duties  of  life.  A  reliable  intelligence  score 
is,  perhaps,  the  best  single  criterion  for  determining  the  life 
career  for  which  a  student  should  prepare  himself.  The 
grade  or  type  of  general  intelligence  and  training  required 
for  success  in  the  more  important  occupations  is  rapidly 
being  determined  by  testing  those  who  have  made  or  who 
are  making  a  success  in  these  fields  of  work.  These  norms, 
when  taken  together  with  the  scores  that  high  school  or 
college  students  make  on  a  reliable  intelligence  test,  con- 
stitute, we  believe,  the  first  essential  step  in  any  practical 
and  efficient  plan  for  the  educational  and  vocational  guid- 
ance of  youth. 

The  need  for  wiser  and  more  efficient  vocational  guidance 
of  youth  is  apparent  to  all.  One  of  the  greatest  social 
wastes  of  to-day  is  due  to  the  fact  that  so  many  men  and 
women  are  engaged  in  occupations  far  beneath  the  level 
of  their  mental  ability,  while  others  are  attempting  work 
too  complex  and  intricate  for  their  mental  strength. 
Both  groups  are  made  unhappy  and  inefficient  by  the  mal- 
adjustment. They  often  get  a  wrong  or  perverted  notion 
about  society  and  government  and  become  socially  ill- 
adjusted  because  of  the  faulty  economic  conditions  under 
which  they  must  work  and  because  their  education  has 
been  so  poorly  adapted  to  their  mental  capacity  and  voca- 
tional needs.  It  was  hoped  to  obtain  in  this  survey  facts 
that  would  serve  as  a  basis  for  correcting  in  some  measure 
such  social  and  human  wastes. 

7.  Democratic  appeal  of  the  high  school.  Another  pur- 
pose of  the  investigation  was  to  gather  information  show- 
ing the  success  that  our  high  schools  are  having  in  reaching 


AIMS   OF   THE   SURVEY  7 

and  graduating  all  classes  of  our  citizenship.  The  Amer- 
ican high  school  is  supposed  to  be  thoroughly  democratic 
and  to  meet  the  needs  of  all  classes  of  people.  We,  there- 
fore, desired  to  ascertain  whether  all  occupational  and  eco- 
nomic classes  found  in  the  state  had  their  full  quota  of 
representatives  in  the  senior  classes  of  the  high  school, 
and  whether  these  schools  were  ministering  adequately  to 
the  individual,  social,  and  vocational  needs  of  these  vari- 
ous occupational  and  economic  classes.  In  order  to  secure 
data  that  would  enable  us  to  solve  this  problem  we  had  to 
obtain  information  showing  the  occupational  and  economic 
class  to  which  each  senior  belonged  and  to  correlate  these 
facts  with  their  scholastic  and  vocational  interests  shown 
by  their  choice  of  an  occupation  and  their  selection  of 
favorite  studies  in  high  school. 

8.  Mental  capacity  of  seniors  coming  from  different 
occupational  and  economic  classes.  It  was  also  desired 
to  ascertain  the  grades  of  intelligence  possessed  by  the 
seniors  coming  from  the  various  economic  and  occupational 
classes,  in  order  to  determine  how  the  individuals  who 
possessed  the  highest  grades  of  intelligence  were  distributed 
among  the  various  occupational  and  economic  groups  rep- 
resented in  the  senior  classes  of  high  schools;  also  to 
determine  the  relative  mental  strength  of  the  representa- 
tives of  these  various  occupational  and  economic  groups. 
It  has  been  generally  assumed  that  people  naturally  group 
themselves  into  occupations  according  to  their  mental 
ability ;  that  different  grades  of  mental  capacity  are  re- 
quired for  different  lines  of  work ;  and  that  the  different 
economic  strata  in  our  society  are  merely  the  result  of 


8      INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH  SCHOOL  SENIORS 

differences  in  mental  endowment.  It  was  believed  that 
a  careful  study  of  the  grades  of  intelligence  actually 
possessed  by  the  representatives  of  these  several  classes 
would  throw  much  light  on  such  assumptions  because  it 
may  be  assumed  that  whatever  mental  differences  exist 
between  occupational  groups  among  the  people  would  be 
reflected  in  some  measure  among  their  children  in  high 
school. 

9.  Differences   between  sections,   communities,    and 
individual  schools.    One  of  the  most  important  original 
purposes  of  the  study  was  to  determine  by  means  of  reliable 
intelligence  tests  any  differences  that  might  exist  in  the 
mental  endowment  of  the  seniors  coming  from  different 
communities  and  individual  high   schools.     Systems  of 
high  school  inspection  and  accrediting  for  college  entrance 
have  been  based  in  general  on  the  assumption  that  high 
schools  located  in  every  part  of  a  state  should  measure  up 
to  the  same  standards  of  efficiency  and  achievement  re- 
gardless of  the  mental  endowment  of  their  students.     One 
of  the  purposes  of  this  study  was  to  ascertain  how  the 
individual  high  schools  of  the  state  compared  in  the  mental 
strength  of  their  senior  classes  and  to  acquaint  teachers 
and  school  officials  with  any  existent  inequalities  in  the 
raw  human  material  with  which  they  have  to  work. 

10.  Intelligence  of  senior  boys  and  girls  compared. 
Lastly,  we  desired  to  make  a  study  of  all  sex  differences 
that  our  survey  might  reveal.    Sex  differences  have  been 
shown  to  be  of  special  importance  when  the  school  achieve- 
ment of  the  boys  and  girls  is  compared,  or  when  their 
interests  or  general  and  special  abilities  are  considered. 


AIMS  OF  THE  SURVEY  9 

The  scores  on  the  intelligence  tests  made  by  the  boys 
and  the  girls  were  therefore  kept  separate  in  all  the 
comparisons  made  in  the  investigation  and  the  results 
carefully  compared  in  order  that  an  accurate  study  might 
be  made  of  any  and  all  sex  differences  that  the  study 
might  reveal. 


CHAPTER  H 
MATERIALS   AND    METHODS 

1.  Intelligence  scale  used.  The  battery  of  tests  used 
in  this  survey  was  the  Indiana  University  Intelligence 
Scale,  Schedule  D,  worked  out  in  the  Psychological  Lab- 
oratory of  Indiana  University  by  S.  L.  Pressey,  re- 
search assistant  in  the  Department  of  Psychology. 
This  mental  examination  consisted  of  ten  separate  tests 
of  twenty  items  each : 1  for  (1)  rote  memory,  (2)  logical 
selection,  (3)  general  arithmetical  ability,  (4)  opposites, 
(5)  logical  memory,  (6)  word  completion,  (7;  moral 
classification,  (8)  dissected  sentences,  (9)  practical  in- 
formation, and  (10)  analogies.  This  scale  had  been  previ- 
ously verified  both  as  to  its  reliability  for  the  measurement 
of  intelligence  and  its  validity  as  a  practical  instru- 
ment for  making  such  a  mental  survey  as  is  proposed  in 
the  present  study.2  Previous  to  this  investigation  it  had 
been  used  in  a  survey  of  the  school  population  of  an  entire 

1  For  a  detailed  description  of  the  intelligence  scale  used  see  article  by 
B.  L.  Pressey,  Journal  of  Applied  Psychology,  September,  1918,  pp.  250- 
269,  and  study  by  W.  F.  Book,  "Variations  in  Mental  Ability  and  Its 
Distribution  among  the  School  Population  of  an  Indiana  County,"  Pro- 
ceedings of  Fifth  Annual  Conference  on  Educational  Measurements,  Vol. 
IV,  pp.  130-169,  April,  1919,  published  by  Indiana  University. 

*  Journal  of  Applied  Psychology,  September,  1918,  Vol.  II,  pp.  250- 
269. 

10 


MATERIALS  AND  METHODS  11 

Indiana  county,1  and  had  been  given  to  all  grade  and  high 
school  pupils  in  three  Indiana  cities.  Earlier  still  it  had 
been  tried  out  with  more  than  25,000  high  school  and  grade 
pupils  in  Indiana,  Illinois,  Colorado,  Dakota,  and  New 
York. 

The  tests  were  given  exactly  as  printed  in  the  official 
Indiana  University  Scale,  except  that  the  time  allotted  to 
the  tests  was  reduced  in  order  to  adapt  them  to  high  school 
seniors.  The  first  five  items  in  Test  1  (rote  memory)  and 
Test  3  (arithmetical  ability)  were  omitted.  These  items 
were  so  easy  for  high  school  seniors  that  they  would  merely 
consume  time  for  both  pupils  and  scorers.  This  reduced 
the  total  score  that  could  be  made  on  the  tests  to  190  points 
instead  of  200,  as  in  the  original  scale.2 
•  The  blanks  were  changed  in  certain  other  respects  so 
as  to  elicit  information  from  the  pupils  and  teachers  that 
would  enable  us  to  compare  the  intelligence  scores  of  high 
school  seniors  with  certain  social,  economic,  and  educa- 
tional conditions  which  we  desired  to  study.  To  this 
end  information  was  obtained  on  the  following  points: 
(1)  the  age  of  the  student  at  time  of  graduation;  (2)  the 
number  of  semesters  spent  in  completing  a  four-year  high 
school  course ;  (3)  the  intention  of  the  student  to  attend 
college  immediately,  and  the  name  of  the  college  selected ; 
(4)  yearly  income  of  father ;  (5)  the  father's  occupation ; 

1  Book,  W.  F.,  "Variations  in  Mental  Ability  and  Its  Distribution 
among  the  School  Population  of  an  Indiana  County, "  Bulletin  Extension 
Division,  Indiana  University,  Vol.  IV,  No.  4,  April,  1918. 

2  These  changes  in  time  and  the  omission  of  the  ten  items  from  Tests  1 
and  3  would  so  modify  the  scores  made  on  the  tests  that  the  results  ob- 
tained in  this  examination  should  not  be  compared  with  the  results 
obtained  from  the  use  of  our  official  Schedule  D. 


12     INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

(6)  the  student's  favorite  study  in  high  school;  (7)  the 
student's  choice  of  a  life  occupation,  if  made ;  (8)  the  stu- 
dent's scholastic  standing  in  high  school  in  all  subjects 
for  the  junior  year.  This  information  was  obtained  by 
teachers  from  the  school  records  and  by  requesting  the 
student  to  answer  immediately,  before  and  after  taking 
the  mental  examination,  certain  questions  printed  on  the 
test  blank.  Arrangements  were  also  made  with  the  prin- 
cipal or  teacher  giving  the  examination,  to  check  each  of 
these  items  on  the  test  blanks  and  on  the  official  report 
of  the  examination  sent  to  the  state  board  of  education. 
Each  report  was  signed  by  the  teacher  or  principal  who 
gave  the  examination  and  graded  the  papers,  and  by  the 
school  official  who  certified  to  the  correctness  of  the  final 
report.  The  original  test  papers  were  returned  to  the- 
writer  with  the  teachers'  reports  for  verification  and  study. 
2.  Method  of  giving  the  tests.  The  test  blanks 
were  distributed  by  Mr.  O.  H.  Williams,  then  high 
school  inspector  for  Indiana,  from  the  office  of  the 
State  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction,  Indianapolis, 
to  the  principal  or  teacher  who,  in  response  to  a  pre- 
vious letter,  had  indicated  his  interest  in  the  proposed 
study  and  his  willingness  to  cooperate  by  giving  the  tests. 
A  printed  examiner's  guide  accompanied  by  a  printed 
leaflet  on  "The  Value  and  Significance  of  Intelligence 
Tests"  was  sent  with  the  test  blanks  to  the  teacher  or 
principal  giving  the  examination.  The  examiner's  manual 
contained  instructions  on  the  general  purpose  of  the  experi- 
ment, on  the  giving  of  intelligence  tests,  and  on  the  exact 
procedure  to  follow  in  arranging  for  and  conducting  the 


MATERIALS  AND  METHODS  13 

examination.  It  also  contained  the  explicit  directions  to 
be  given  to  pupils  in  each  test.  It  showed  how  to  obtain 
from  the  pupils  the  general  information  called  for  on  the 
blanks,  and  contained  a  complete  set  of  rules  for  scoring 
the  papers  and  for  making  out  the  special  report  to  the 
state  board  of  education. 

This  final  report  was  made  on  a  specially  prepared 
blank,  which,  when  properly  filled  out,  contained  the 
name  of  each  pupil  taking  the  examination,  his  record  for 
each  individual  test,  his  total  score,  his  age  at  the  time  of 
graduation,  the  number  of  semesters  spent  in  completing 
a  four-year  high  school  course,  average  scholarship  record 
made  during  his  junior  year  in  high  school,  his  father's 
occupation,  father's  annual  income,  college  intention,1 
choice  of  a  life  occupation,  favorite  study  in  high  school, 
etc.  This  information  made  it  possible  to  compare  the 
intelligence  ratings  made  by  various  groups  of  students 
separately  and  with  the  state  standard.  It  also  provided 
an  opportunity  for  verifying  each  item  in  the  reports  from 
each  school,  as  the  original  test  papers,  together  with  all 
facts  called  for,  were  returned  to  the  writer  for  reference 
and  verification. 

The  tests  were  all  given  during  the  early  part  of  May, 
1919,  and  were  given  to  all  senior  students  of  each  school 
on  the  same  day.  Because  of  delay  on  the  part  of  the 

1  In  the  column  calling  for  college  intention  the  teacher  or  principal 
making  out  the  report  was  asked  to  write  the  name  of  the  particular 
college  the  pupil  expected  to  attend  if  a  choice  had  been  made,  the  word 
"yes"  if  he  was  going  to  college,  but  had  not  made  a  choice  of  college; 
the  word  "no"  if  he  stated  that  he  did  not  expect  to  go  to  college.  All 
this  information  was  contained  on  the  pupil's  mental  test  blank  and  was 
verified  by  the  writer. 


14     INTELLIGENCE   OF   HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

state  board  of  education  in  arranging  for  the  investigation, 
the  blanks  did  not  reach  some  of  the  smaller  schools  in 
time  for  them  to  give  the  examination  before  the  end  of 
the  school  year.  But  320  commissioned  high  schools  in 
the  state  gave  the  examination  to  their  senior  classes, 
which  varied  in  size  from  2  to  276  pupils.  There  were 
in  these  high  schools  a  total  of  6188  senior  students  who 
took  the  examination  —  2477  boys  and  3711  girls.  In  a 
few  schools  the  entire  senior  class  was  not  present  on  the 
day  the  tests  were  given,  but  from  about  98  per  cent  of 
these  schools  a  100  per  cent  record  was  obtained  from  their 
senior  classes.1  Two  large  and  three  small  high  schools 
did  not  return  their  reports  in  time  to  be  included  in  all 
tabulations.  Their  results  were  used  only  in  making  the 
comparison  between  communities  and  schools  and  in  the 
computation  of  the  state  standard.  For  all  other  compari- 
sons made  in  this  study  the  reports  from  only  5748  students 
were  used,  2306  being  boys  and  3442  girls. 

3.  Scope  of  the  survey  and  nature  of  the  results. 
As  may  be  inferred  from  our  statement  of  aims  and  the 
description  of  methods,  the  results  of  this  investigation 
bear  directly  upon  a  number  of  problems  far  reaching  in 
educational  and  social  significance,  which  serve  as  chapter 
headings  in  Part  II  of  this  study.  These  problems  may 
be  briefly  set  forth  as  follows : 

(1)  The  general  level  and  range  of  intelligence  of  Indi- 
ana high  school  seniors,  shown  by  the  range  and  distribu- 
tion of  the  scores  made  on  the  intelligence  test. 

1  A  check  on  this  point  was  obtained  by  having  each  school  report  the 
total  enrollment  of  its  senior  class  and  the  number  of  boys  and  girls  who 
took  the  examination. 


MATERIALS  AND  METHODS  15 

(2)  The  intelligence  of  the  seniors  going  to  college,  ob- 
tained by  making  a  comparative  study  of  the  intelligence 
scores  made  by  the  seniors  (a)  going  to  college,  (6)  those 
not  going  to  college,  (c)  those  going  to  a  liberal  arts  col- 
lege, (d)  those  going  to  a  professional  or  technical  col- 
lege, (e)  those  going  to  college,  with  no  college  selected. 

(3)  The  intelligence  of  seniors  whom  the  high  school 
has  accelerated,  retarded,  or  regularly  promoted,  obtained 
by  comparing  and  contrasting  the  intelligence  scores  of 
those  graduating  from  a  four-year  course  in  6,  7,  8,  9, 
10,  11,  or  12  semesters. 

(4)  The  intelligence  of  seniors  who  had  been  accelerated 
or  retarded  at  some  time  during  their  entire  school  course, 
obtained  by  comparing  the  record  made  on  the  tests  by 
those  who  graduated  from  high  school  when  they  were  15, 
16,  17,  18,  19,  20,  and  21  to  27  years  of  age. 

(5)  The  intelligence  of   seniors  making  an   excellent 
average,  or  a  poor  scholastic  record  in  high  school,  shown 
by  correlating  with  his  intelligence    score  the  average 
scholarship  record  made  by  each  student  in  all  subjects 
studied  during  his  junior  year  in  high  school. 

(6)  The  intelligence  of  seniors  selecting  different  occu- 
pational careers,  obtained  by  distributing  the  total  group 
of  seniors  on  the  basis  of  the  life  occupations  selected,  and 
(a)  comparing  the  intelligence  scores  made  by  the  group 
which  had  selected  a  life  occupation  with  the  scores  made 
by  the  group  which  had  not,  and  (6)  comparing  the  scores 
made  by  the  groups  that  selected  different  standard  occu- 
pations. 

(7)  The  intelligence  of  seniors  pursuing  different  courses 


16    INTELLIGENCE  OF  HIGH  SCHOOL  SENIORS 

in  high  school  —  the  academic,  scientific,  classical,  general, 
college  preparatory,  commercial,  and  vocational  —  ob- 
tained by  comparing  the  intelligence  rating  made  by  sen- 
iors pursuing  each  of  these  seven  courses  offered  by  the 
high  schools  of  the  state. 

(8)  The  intelligence  of  seniors  preferring  different  high 
school  subjects,  obtained  by  asking  each  senior  to  indicate 
his  favorite  study  in  high  school,  and  by  comparing  the 
records  made  on  the  mental  tests  by  those  electing  differ- 
ent subjects  with  each  other  and  with  the  state  standard. 

(9)  The  intelligence  of  seniors  belonging  to  different 
occupational  classes,  obtained  by  distributing  the  intelli- 
gence scores  of  our  total  group  according  to  the  occupations 
of  their  fathers  and  comparing  and  contrasting  with  the 
state  standard  the  intelligence  ratings  made  by  seniors 
belonging  to  these  several  occupational  groups. 

(10)  The  intelligence  of  seniors  coming  from  different 
economic  strata  in  our  society,  obtained  by  redistributing 
our  total  group  of  seniors  according  to  the  earnings  of  their 
fathers  and  comparing  the  intelligence  ratings  made  by 
those  belonging  to  different  economic  groups. 

(11)  The  intelligence  of  seniors  coming  from  different 
communities  and  schools,  obtained  by  comparing  the  intel- 
ligence ratings  of  the  seniors  coming  (a)  from  different 
sections  of  the  state,  i.e.  the  northern,  central,  and  south- 
ern sections;    (6)  from  different  sized   high  schools  in 
each  section ;  (c)  from  different  types  of  communities,  i.e. 
mining,  agricultural,  manufacturing,  and  urban ;   (d)  from 
schools  situated  in  the  most  fertile  and  in  the  least  pro- 
ductive sections  of  the  state;    (e)  from  schools  of  the 


17 

same  size,  located  in  the  same  city,  county,  or  section  of 
the  state. 

(12)  Important  sex  differences  were  also  revealed  for 
the  various  groups  compared,  by  keeping  separate  in  all 
our  tabulations  the  records  made  by  the  boys  and  the 
girls. 

Each  of  these  problems  will  be  dealt  with  in  Part  II  of 
this  book,  devoted  to  a  presentation  and  interpretation  of 
the  results  of  the  survey. 


PART  II 

PRESENTATION   AND    EXPLANATION  OF 
RESULTS 

CHAPTER  III 


THE  first  problem  set  by  the  survey  was  to  ascertain  by 
reliable  measurement :  (1)  the  general  level  of  intelligence 
found  among  high  school  seniors,  (2)  the  range  of  intelli- 
gence or  grades  of  mental  endowment  found  among  this 
select  group,  and  (3)  the  relative  frequency  with  which 
various  grades  of  intelligence  occur  among  the  individuals 
of  this  special  group. 

1.  General  level  of  intelligence  of  high  school  seniors. 
Since  it  is  impossible  to  measure  absolute  mental  ability, 
because  no  intelligence  scale  can  be  constructed  which  will 
give  us  an  actual  zero  point  of  intelligence  to  start  from, 
and  since  any  group  of  individuals  reveal  many  different 
grades  of  mental  ability,  the  general  level  of  intelligence 
of  any  group  must  be  measured  by  standards  obtained 
from  the  group  itself  or  by  standards  obtained  from  other 
groups  of  individuals  whose  intelligence  rating  is  known. 
High  school  seniors  represent  a  highly  selected  group  of 
individuals  who  have  heretofore  not  been  measured. 
We,  therefore,  do  not  have  norms  from  a  similar  group 

18 


RANGE  AND  DISTRIBUTION  19 

with  which  to  compare  our  results.  Neither  do  we  have 
norms  for  our  scale  from  an  unselected  group  of  adults. 
The  most  reliable  index  of  the  general  level  of  intelligence 
of  this  special  group  of  individuals  will,  therefore,  be  the 
central  tendency  or  median  score  made  by  the  total  group 
and  the  range  in  score  for  the  middle  50  per  cent,  which 
indicates  not  merely  the  median  for  the  total  group,  but 
the  middle  points  in  the  distribution  of  scores  above  and 
below  this  median  score. 

The  median  score  for  our  total  group  was  137  points  out 
of  a  possible  score  of  190.  The  median  score  for  the  boys 
was  138.9  and  for  the  girls  135.8.  The  total  range  of 
scores  extended  from  40  to  187  points.  The  middle  50  per 
cent  of  the  group  made  scores  ranging  from  124  to  148 
points.  (See  distribution  curve,  Figure  1.) 

2.  Range  of  intelligence  among  high  school  seniors. 
The  various  grades  of  intelligence  which  high  school  sen- 
iors possess  are  indicated  by  the  range  in  score  above 
and  below  the  median  for  the  total  group,  and  by  the 
distribution  of  scores  above  and  below  this  central  point. 
Table  I,  containing  the  percentile  scores  for  the  entire 
group  and  for  each  sex,  shows  that  while  the  median  score 
is  137, 50  per  cent  of  the  students  made  scores  between  124 
and  148  points;  10  per  cent  made  scores  above  158; 
the  highest  5  per  cent  made  scores  above  164 ;  while  the 
highest  1  per  cent  made  scores  ranging  from  176  to  187 
points.  The  poorest  10  per  cent  of  the  total  group  made 
scores  below  111  points;  the  lowest  5  per  cent  fell  below 
102 ;  while  the  lowest  1  per  cent  made  scores  ranging  from 
40  to  81  points. 


20     INTELLIGENCE    OF  HIGH  SCHOOL  SENIORS 

TABLE  I 
PERCENTILE  SCORES  FOE  THE  TOTAL  GROUP 

Percentile 
groups 1      5     10    20     25    40    50     60    75    80    90    95    99  CASE 

total  group 81  102  111  121  124  131  137  142  148  151  158  164  176  6188 

Score  for 
boys 80  102  112  122  126  134  139  143  150  153  160  165  177  2477 

Score  for 
girls 83  101  110  120  123  131  136  141  147  150  157  163  1753711 

A  clearer,  and  perhaps  more  accurate,  idea  of  the  differ- 
ent grades  of  mental  ability  possessed  by  these  high  school 
seniors  may  be  obtained  by  ascertaining  the  percentage 
of  individuals  whose  test  scores  place  them  in  definite 
sectors  of  the  total  distribution.  If  we  divide  the  total 
range  of  scores,  above  and  below  the  median,  into  sectors 
of  equal  length  and  calculate  the  percentage  of  individuals 
whose  test  scores  place  them  at  these  different  levels  of 
the  total  distribution,  we  secure  not  only  an  indication  of 
the  different  grades  of  intelligence  which  our  total  group 
possessed,  but  we  obtain  a  method  which  will  enable  us  to 
determine  the  frequency  with  which  each  of  these  grades 
of  intelligence  occurs  in  our  total  group.  If,  then,  some 
specific  designation  be  given  to  each  of  these  grades  of 
intelligence,  we  have  a  method  which  enables  us  to  compare 
any  particular  group  of  individuals  with  our  state  standard 
and  with  any  other  group.  This  method  will  also  enable 
us  to  ascertain  the  extent  to  which  these  same  grades  of 
mental  ability  occur  in  any  desired  regrouping  of  these  same 
individuals.  We  are  enabled  also  to  determine  the  rela- 
tive frequency  with  which  these  different  grades  of  intelli- 
gence occur  in  a  given  group,  and  so  to  draw  definite  con- 


RANGE   AND   DISTRIBUTION 


21 


elusions  regarding  their  presence  or  absence  and  their  rela- 
tive frequency  of  occurrence  in  any  reclassified  group 
which  we  may  wish  to  study  or  compare  with  our  state 
standard. 

With  these  ends  in  view  we  divided  the  total  range  of 
scores  made  by  our  total  group  into  steps  representing  an 
Percent 


70- 
15 
10 
5 

•a 

vO 

0' 

11.81 

19.15 

1110 

13.85 

7.15 

584 
1.09   | 

5.03 

1.13 

F 

4O-84 

E- 

85-104 

E      0     C-  C  C+     B     A        A+ 

105    115     115  135  I4O    ISO    IfaO     I7O-I89 
114    124    134  139  149    159    Ib9 

FIGURE  1. —  Distribution  of  the  grades  of  intelligence  possessed  by 
our  total  or  standard  group  of  high  school  seniors.  (The  "C" 
sector  in  the  curve  is  narrowed  in  width  and  increased  in  height 
to  show  proper  proportion.) 

increase  or  decrease  in  score  of  ten  points  above  or  below 
the  median  score  for  our  total  or  standard  group.  A  dis- 
tribution curve  drawn  on  this  basis  is  shown  in  Figure  1, 
and  indicates  the  relative  frequency  with  which  each  of 
these  grades  of  intelligence  occurred  in  our  total  group. 
To  facilitate  making  the  necessary  calculations  in  our 
comparisons,  we  considered  the  middle  sector  (135  to  139 
inclusive,  two  points  on  either  side  of  the  median)  as  a 
separate  unit,  and  made  regular  gradations  above  and 
below  this  point. 


22     INTELLIGENCE   OF   HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

As  may  be  seen  from  an  inspection  of  this  distribution 
curve,  the  range  in  score  extends  farther  below  than  above 
the  median.  The  steps  in  our  total  distribution  are,  for 
sake  of  clearness  and  ease  of  comparison,  designated  by 
the  letters,  A+,  A,  B,  C+,  C,  C",  D,  E,  E~,  and  F,  begin- 
ning with  the  highest  sector  or  intelligence  rank  and  con- 
tinuing to  the  lowest.  The  score  value  of  these  steps  or 
grades  of  ability  and  their  relative  frequency  in  our  total 
group  is  shown  in  Figure  1.  In  the  remaining  sections  of 
this  report  these  variations  in  test  score  will,  for  the  sake 
of  convenience,  be  referred  to  as  A,  B,  C,  D,  E,  or  F  grades 
of  intelligence  for  high  school  seniors,  signifying  the  varia- 
tions in  mental  ability  suggested  by  these  differences  in 
total  score.1 

The  steps  in  our  distribution  curve,  above  and  below 
the  median,  are  of  equal  length  until  the  highest  and  lowest 
ranges  are  reached.  This  does  not  indicate,  however,  an 
equal  amount  of  increase  or  decrease  in  intelligence.  Our 
scale  is  not  so  constructed  and  cannot  be  so  constructed 
as  to  give  equal  value  to  each  of  these  sectors.  The  abso- 
lute value  of  these  different  grades  of  intelligence  is  un- 
known. But  notwithstanding  this  fact,  we  may  give  them 
a  label  and  make  definite  statements  regarding  their 
presence  or  frequency  in  any  subgroup  of  these  same 
individuals  which  we  might  desire  to  study  and  compare 

1  These  intelligence  grades  for  high  school  seniors  should  not  be  con- 
fused with  the  intelligence  ratings  obtained  in  the  army.  The  army 
tests  were  given  to  an  unselecled  group  of  adults.  Our  mental  tests  were 
given  to  a  highly  selected  group  of  adults.  Consequently  an  A  rating 
for  high  school  seniors  indicates  an  entirely  different  grade  of  general 
intelligence  from  an  A  rating  obtained  by  the  use  of  the  army  scale,  as  is 
explained  farther  on  in  this  report. 


RANGE   AND   DISTRIBUTION  23 

with  the  state  standard.  The  method  gives  us  not  only  a 
state  standard  for  our  measurements,  but  a  means  for 
making  convenient  and  reliable  comparisons  between  the 
various  groups  of  seniors  which  we  desired  to  study  in  this 
investigation. 

3.  Number  of  seniors  at  the  various  intelligence  levels. 
To  determine  the  relative  frequency  with  which  these 
different  grades  of  intelligence  occur  among  the  individuals 
in  any  particular  group  we  need  only  ascertain  the  percent- 
age belonging  to  the  group  whose  test  scores  place  them  in 
standard  sectors  of  our  total  distribution.     These  percent- 
age amounts  are  shown  in  Figure  1  and  Table  II. 

TABLE  II 

PERCENTAGE  OF  HIGH  SCHOOL  SENIORS  POSSESSING  EACH  GRADE 

OP  INTELLIGENCE 
Intelligence 

grades      .     .     .  A+      A     B      C+     C       C~     D     E     E~   F 
Per  cent  of  total 

group  who  made 

each  grade  on  the 

tests    ....  2        6       14    22       11      19       13     7      5      1 

4.  Probable  value  of  these  several  grades  of  intelligence. 
The  significance  of  these  various  grades  of  intelligence 
may  be  discerned  if  they  are  translated  into  terms  which 
have  been  used  to  describe  the  variations  in  intelligence 
found  among  the  members  of  an  unselected  group  of  adults. 
In  evaluating  the  results  obtained  by  the  use  of  the  army 
mental  tests  individuals  were  divided  into  the  following 
seven  classes: l  (1)  those  possessing   a  very  superior  or 

1  Compare  Army  Mental  Tests,  Washington,  D.  C.,  November,  1918, 
pp.  6-7. 


24 

"A"  grade  of  intelligence;  (2)  those  possessing  superior 
or  "B"  grade  of  intelligence;  (3)  those  possessing  a  high 
average  or  "C+"  grade  of  intelligence;  (4)  those  possess- 
ing only  average  or  "C"  grade  of  intelligence;  (5)  those 
possessing  a  low  average  or  "C~"  grade  of  intelligence; 

(6)  those  possessing  an  inferior  or  "  D  "  grade  of  intelligence ; 

(7)  those  possessing  a  very  inferior  or  "E"  grade  of  intelli- 
gence, depending  upon  the  position  in  which  the  individ- 
ual's mental  test  score  placed  him  in  the  total  range  of 
scores. 

It  may  be  further  assumed,  as  has  been  determined  by 
actual  experiment,  that  individuals  with  very  inferior 
mental  ability  (the  lowest  8  or  10  per  cent  of  any  unselected 
group  of  adults)  are  mentally  deficient,  or  border-line 
cases,  belonging  to  the  higher  grades  of  feebleminded,  who 
have  not  been  committed  to  institutions  for  the  mentally 
deficient.  Those  with  inferior  intelligence,  the  next  15 
per  cent,  are  rarely  able  to  go  beyond  the  third  or  fourth 
grade  in  our  elementary  schools  no  matter  how  long  they 
attend.  Individuals  with  a  low  average  or  C~  grade  of 
intelligence  may  possibly  finish  the  elementary  school 
grades,  but  rarely  if  ever  go  on  to  high  school.1  This 
would  leave  for  the  high  school  only  the  individuals 
who  possess  average  (C),  high  average  (C+),  superior  (B), 
and  very  superior  or  A  grades  of  intelligence.  Since 
those  with  only  average  intelligence  are  rarely  capable 
of  completing  a  high  school  course,  we  may  conclude  that 
the  high  school  seniors  which  we  tested  would  fall,  in  the 
main,  in  the  high  average,  superior,  and  very  superior 

1  Army  Mental  Tests,  Washington,  D.  C.,  November,  1918,  pp.  6-7. 


RANGE -AND   DISTRIBUTION  25 

groups  if  measured  by  a  standard  obtained  from  a  large 
group  of  unselected  adults.  Those  who  made  scores  on 
our  tests  which  place  them  in  the  lowest  5  or  10  percentile 
group  would  therefore  possess  (because  they  are  seniors 
in  high  school)  at  least  average  intelligence  if  measured 
by  a  standard  obtained  from  an  unselected  group  of 
adults. 

The  various  grades  of  intelligence  possessed  by  high 
school  seniors  must  therefore  be  thought  of  as  further  vari- 
ations of  these  higher  rankings  of  unselected  adults. 

It  would  be  helpful  if  we  had  norms  for  our  scale  from 
such  an  unselected  group  of  adults  with  which  to  make 
our  comparisons.  It  would  be  better  still  if  we  had  an  ab- 
solute scale  for  measuring  intelligence,  so  that  we  might 
determine  where  in  this  scale  of  absolute  values  our  group 
would  stand  between  the  lowest,  or  zero  grade  of  intelli- 
gence, and  the  highest  possible  grade.  But  lacking  such 
an  instrument  or  standard,  we  can  make  comparisons  in 
this  report  only  in  terms  of  standards  obtained  from  our 
own  selected  group,  remembering  the  probable  position 
in  a  normal  scale  of  distribution  which  this  group  occupies, 
and  what  the  inequalities  in  mental  ability  possessed  by 
this  group  really  mean  when  translated  into  terms  of  a 
normal  distribution.  And  since  our  group  is  composed 
exclusively  of  those  who  have  successfully  completed  a 
high  school  course,  we  may  infer  that  we  tested  only  the 
equivalent  of  a  few  adults  with  average  intelligence,  and 
possibly  only  the  best  of  the  group  possessing  high  average 
intelligence.  The  rest  of  our  seniors,  if  thought  of  in  terms 
of  a  standard  obtained  from  an  unselected  group  of  adults, 


26      INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

would  doubtless  possess  superior  and  very  superior  grades 
of  intelligence.1 

It  should  therefore  be  borne  in  mind,  in  considering  the 
results  of  this  study,  that  the  individuals  in  our  selected 
group  whose  test  scores  place  them  in  the  highest  sectors 
of  our  total  distribution,  represent  in  all  probability  the 
very  best  individuals  intellectually,  of  those  who  in  an 
unselected  group  would  be  classed  as  very  superior.  This 
much  is  certain.  They  are  the  best  of  this  original  group 
of  superiors  as  far  as  the  high  school  is  able  to  select  and 
conserve  them.  It  is  the  brightest  individuals  of  this 
highly  selected  and  in  all  probability  specially  gifted  group 
that  we  wished  especially  to  locate  by  means  of  this  investi- 
gation so  that  they  might  be  assisted  and  encouraged  to 
continue  their  education  in  a  college  or  university. 

1  The  American  public  schools,  though  the  most  democratic  in  the 
world,  are,  notwithstanding,  a  very  effective  selective  agency,  which 
tends  to  conserve  only  the  best  by  the  constant  elimination  of  the  most 
unfit  individuals  belonging  to  the  total  social  group.  This  selective 
feature  of  our  educational  system  is  often  overlooked. 


CHAPTER  IV 

INTELLIGENCE  OF  HIGH  SCHOOL  SENIORS 
GOING  TO   COLLEGE 

ONE  of  the  original  purposes  of  this  investigation  was  to 
locate,  by  means  of  intelligence  tests,  the  brightest  seniors 
graduating  from  the  high  schools  of  the  state  in  order  that 
they  might  be  encouraged  and,  where  necessary,  aided 
financially,  to  attend  a  university.  In  order  to  arrange  for 
the  conservation  of  the  talents  of  this  specially  gifted 
group  our  first  task  became  that  of  ascertaining  the  intelli- 
gence of  the  seniors  who  were  actually  planning  to  go  to 
college,  in  order  to  see  to  what  extent  our  colleges  and  uni- 
versities are  already  attracting  the  ablest  individuals  eligi- 
ble to  enter  higher  educational  institutions. 

As  already  stated,  each  student  taking  the  intelligence 
tests  was  required  to  indicate  on  his  test  blank  his  exact 
college  intention.  In  case  this  information  was  not  re- 
ported, or  was  incomplete,  the  teacher  giving  the  test  ob- 
tained it  privately  and  reported  it.  The  tabulations  were 
then  made  in  such  a  way  that  a  comparative  study  could 
be  made  of  the  intelligence  scores  of  the  following  groups : 
(1)  those  definitely  planning  to  attend  a  college  or  univer- 
sity immediately;  (2)  those  who  stated  that  they  never 
expected  to  attend  a  college  or  university ;  (3)  those  who 
intended  to  attend  college  but  who  had  not  yet  decided 
what  college  to  attend ;  (4)  those  selecting  an  engineering 

27 


28      INTELLIGENCE   OF   HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

or  professional  school;1  (5)  those  selecting  a  college  of 
liberal  arts.  The  mental  tests  given  to  all  classes  of  men 
in  the  army  showed  that  engineers  rated  distinctly  higher 
on  the  army  intelligence  tests  than  did  any  other  occupa- 
tional group.  We  were  interested,  therefore,  not  merely 
in  ascertaining  whether  the  brightest  students  graduating 
from  Indiana  high  schools  were  planning  to  attend  college, 
but  in  determining  what  sort  of  college  they  expected  to 
attend. 

The  distribution  tables  for  the  two  groups  of  seniors 
mentioned  first  showed  that  when  each  of  these  groups  was 
compared  with  our  total  or  standard  group  there  seemed  to 
be  about  as  many  individuals  among  the  group  "  going  to 
college"  whose  test  score  placed  them  in  the  lower  sectors 
of  the  distribution  as  there  were  in  the  group  "not  going 
to  college" ;  and,  conversely,  there  seemed  to  be  about  as 
many  in  the  group  "not  going  to  college"  whose  test  scores 
placed  them  in  the  higher  sectors  of  the  distribution  as  in 
the  group  who  had  definitely  decided  to  attend  college. 
In  other  words,  there  were  individuals  in  both  groups 
who  possessed  each  grade  of  intelligence  from  the  highest 
to  the  lowest.  Therefore,  the  only  way  to  compare  ade- 
quately the  intelligence  of  these  several  groups  was  to 
ascertain  the  general  level  of  intelligence  possessed  by 
each  group  and  to  calculate  the  percentage  of  indi- 
viduals belonging  to  these  several  groups  who  possessed 
each  grade  of  intelligence  found  among  the  individuals 
of  our  total  or  standard  group. 

1  This  group  includes  those  selecting  a  normal  or  teachers'  training 
school  as  well  as  a  professional  or  engineering  college. 


INTELLIGENCE  AND  COLLEGE  INTENTION     29 


1.  General  level  of  intelligence  of  the  seniors  going 
to  college.  The  general  level  of  intelligence  possessed  by 
the  seniors  belonging  to  the  several  groups  compared  in 
this  section  is  indicated,  first  of  all,  by  the  percentage  of 
individuals  belonging  to  each  group  who  made  scores 
on  our  tests  above  the  median  for  our  total  or  standard 
group.  These  figures,  given  in  Table  III,  show  that  the 
seniors  who  were  planning  to  attend  college  rank  somewhat 
higher  than  those  who  stated  that  they  never  expected 
to  attend.  Those  who  had  decided  what  college  they 
would  attend  rank  higher  than  those  who  had  not 
selected  then*  college.  Those  expecting  to  attend  an 
engineering  or  technical  school  rank  slightly  higher  than 
any  other  group. 

TABLE  III 

PER  CENT  OP  GROUPS  WITH  DIFFERENT  COLLEGE  INTENTION 
WHO  MADE  SCORES  ABOVE  THE  STATE  MEDIAN 


GROUPS  COMPARED 

WILL  ATTEND 

CASES 

College 

No 
College 

College 
Liberal 
Arts 

Tech- 
nical 
College 

No 
College 
Selected 

Sexes  combined  

51.74 

46.41 

57.02 

58.98 

47.10 

5748 

Boys  

56.07 

47.47 

59.02 

59.49 

51.92 

2306 

Girls  

48.37 

45.91 

55.92 

53.34 

44.93 

3442 

A  second  indication  of  the  general  level  of  intelligence  of 
these  several  groups  may  be  obtained  from  a  comparison 
of  the  percentile  scores  for  each  group.  The  1,  5,  10,  25, 
40,  50,  60,  80,  90,  95,  and  99  percentile  scores  were  calcu- 


30      INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH  SCHOOL  SENIORS 


lated  for  each  of  the  five  groups  of  seniors  compared  and 
curves  drawn  for  each  group.  These  percentile  curves 
show  (see  Figure  2)  that  the  students  going  to  college  rank 
slightly  higher  at  all  levels  of  ability  than  the  group  that 
did  not  expect  to  attend;  that  those  selecting  a  college 

TEST 
SCORE 

170 


160 
150 

130- 

no- 
no 

100] 
90 


GOING  TO  LIBERAL  ARTS  COLLEGE 
—  GOING  TO  SOME  COLLEGE 
NOT  GOING  TO  COLLEGE 


5         IO 

PERCENTILES 


4O       5O       6O        8O       9O       95       99 


FIGURE  2.  —  Curves  showing  scores  obtained  by  various  proportionate 
groups  of  seniors:  (1)  going  to  college,  (2)  not  going  to  college, 
(3)  going  to  a  college  of  liberal  arts. 

of  liberal  arts  rank  consistently  higher  at  every  level  of 
intelligence  than  any  other  group ;  that  the  curve  for  the 
group  which  expected  to  attend  college  but  which  had  not 
decided  what  college  to  attend  passes  below  the  curve  for 
the  group  not  expecting  to  attend,  at  the  lower  levels  of 


INTELLIGENCE  AND  COLLEGE  INTENTION     31 

ability,  and  slightly  above  it  at  the  higher  levels,  due,  no 
doubt,  to  the  fact  that  many  girls  possessing  the  lower 
grades  of  intelligence  stated  that  they  expected  to  attend 
college  when  they  meant  a  so-called  commercial  college. 

The  best  indication,  however,  of  the  general  level  of  in- 
telligence of  these  various  groups  is  given  by  the  data  con- 
tained in  Figure  3,  showing  the  record  made  by  the  middle 
50  per  cent  of  seniors  belonging  to  each  of  the  five  groups 

TEST  SCORE 

8O       90        100      IIO       120       130       1+0       ISO       160       170 

PERCENTILES  5          10  15  M  75          9O     95  99 

GOING  TO  LIBERAL  AftTS 

GOING  TO  TECHNICAL  OR  PRO- 
FESSIONAL COLLEGE 
GOING  TO  COLLEGE 

GOING.NO  COLLEGE  CHOSE 
NOT  GOING 

INTELLIGENCE  RATING 


E-  E  D          C-     C       O       B         A    '       A* 

FIGURE  3.  —  Scores  obtained  by  middle  50  per  cent  of  seniors  with  vari- 
ous college  intentions.  The  scale  at  the  top  of  the  figure  gives 
range  in  score  for  our  standard  group  divided,  by  vertical  cross-bar, 
into  percentile  groups.  Scale  at  bottom  shows  corresponding  grades 
of  intelligence. 

compared  in  this  chapter.  The  record  made  by  the  middle 
50  per  cent  of  our  total  or  standard  group  is  indicated  on 
the  scale  at  the  top  of  the  figure.  The  scale  at  the  bottom 
shows  the  score  value  of  the  various  intelligence  ratings. 
The  horizontal  bars  indicate  the  scores  made  by  the  middle 
50  per  cent  of  seniors  belonging  to  the  various  groups 
compared.  The  vertical  lines  crossing  the  bars  indicate 
the  median  scores  for  each  group. 
As  may  be  seen  from  an  inspection  of  the  figure,  the 


32      INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

median  score  and  record  for  the  middle  50  per  cent  of  the 
group  planning  to  attend  a  liberal  arts  college  is  higher  than 
that  for  any  other  group.  The  group  not  going  to  college 
ranks  lowest.  The  other  groups  rank  in  between.  The 
group  which  will  not  attend  college  and  the  group  expecting 
to  attend  college,  but  not  having  selected  then*  college, 
both  rank  below  our  total  or  standard  group. 

2.  Number  of  seniors  going  to  college  a  who  score  at 
the  various  intelligence  levels.  The  relative  frequency 
with  which  each  grade  of  intelligence  possessed  by  our 
total  or  standard  group  was  found  among  the  group  going 
to  college,  or  in  any  of  the  other  groups  compared  with 
it  in  this  section,  may  be  determined  by  calculating  the 
percentage  of  individuals  belonging  to  these  various 
groups,  whose  test  scores  place  them  in  the  different 
standard  sectors  of  our  total  distribution.  From  our 
distribution  tables  the  percentage  of  individuals  pos- 
sessing each  grade  of  intelligence  from  A+  to  F,  in- 
clusive, was  calculated  for  each  of  the  groups  compared 
in  this  section.  These  results  were  then  expressed  by 
means  of  curves  indicating  the  relative  frequency  of 
the  several  grades  of  ability  possessed  by  each  group. 
(See  Figures  4  and  5.) 

Figure  4  compares  the  various  grades  of  intelligence 
possessed  by  the  seniors  going  to  a  college  of  liberal  arts 
with  those  possessed  by  the  group  not  going  to  college. 
As  may  readily  be  seen  from  an  inspection  of  these  distribu- 
tion curves,  the  group  going  to  colleges  of  liberal  arts  is 
distinctly  superior  to  the  group  not  going  to  college,  in  the 
percentage  of  individuals  rated  A+,  A,  or  B.  The 


INTELLIGENCE  AND  COLLEGE  INTENTION     33 

group  not  going  to  college  also  has  a  larger  proportion  of 
individuals  rated  D,  E,  and  F.  This  is  ( shown  by  the 
fact  that  for  the  higher  levels  of  ability  the  curve  for 
the  group  expecting  to  attend  a  liberal  arts  college  passes 
above  the  other  curve,  while  for  the  lower  levels  of  ability 

Percent 
30  n 


25- 
2O- 
15 
ID- 
S' 


'          ' GOING  TO  LIBERAL  ARTS  COLLEGE 

NOT  GOING  TO  COLLEGE 


A+      A          B         O       C         C-       D          E          E-       F 
RATED 

FIGURE  4.  —  Frequency  curves  for  seniors  (1)  not  going  to  college,  and 
(2)  going  to  colleges  of  liberal  arts,  showing  the  percentage  belong- 
ing to  each  group  who  possess  each  grade  of  intelligence  found 
among  high  school  seniors. 

it  passes  below  the  curve  for  the  group  not  going  to 
college.  The  curves  for  those  who  had  not  decided 
what  college  they  would  attend  and  those  who  expected 
to  attend  a  professional  or  technical  school  are  not 
shown  in  the  figure.  If  drawn,  they  would  pass  about 
midway  between  the  curves  shown  in  the  figure. 


34 


Figure  5  compares  the  grades  of  intelligence  possessed  by 
the  group  going  to  colleges  of  liberal  arts  with  those  pos- 
sessed by  the  group  going  to  a  professional  or  technical 
school.  A  mere  glance  at  these  curves  will  show  the  superi- 
ority of  the  liberal  arts  group  for  the  higher  grades  of  ability. 

Percent 
30  T 


15- 
20- 
15- 
10 
5- 


,'    /- GOINGTO  LIBERAL  ARTS  COLLEGE  N 

GOIMGTO  PROFESSIONAL  SCHOOL 


C+ 


0 


E- 


A+       A          B 

RATED 

FIGURE  5.  —  Frequency  curves  for  seniors  going  (1)  to  colleges  of  lib- 
eral art?,  (2)  to  a  technical  or  professional  school.  Curves  show 
the  percentage  belonging  to  each  group  who  possess  each  grade  of 
intelligence  found  among  high  school  seniors. 

This  curve  rises  above  the  curve  for  the  technical  group 
at  the  points  indicating  an  A+  or  A  grade  of  intel- 
ligence. But  for  the  C+  and  C  grades  the  curve  for  the 
technical  group  rises  far  above  the  curve  for  the  liberal 
arts  group,  showing  that  a  larger  percentage  of  indi- 
viduals belonging  to  the  latter  group  possess  this  grade  of 


intelligence.     This    fact    makes    the    percentage    of    in- 
dividuals belonging  to  this  technical  group,  who   make 
Percent 


30 

25 

TOTAL 

20- 

GROUP 
RATED 

15 

\o- 

AorB 

• 

5- 

0. 

GROUPS 


TOTAL 
GROUP 
RATED 

D.EorF 


FIGURE  6.  —  Percentage  of  seniors  possessing  the  highest  (A  or  B)  and 
the  lowest  (D,  E,  or  F)  grades  of  intelligence  in  the  following  groups : 
(1)  our  total  or  standard  group;  (2)  all  who  will  not  attend  col- 
lege ;  (3)  those  expecting  to  attend  college,  no  college  selected ; 
(4)  all  who  expect  to  attend  college ;  (5)  those  expecting  to  attend 
a  technical  or  professional  school ;  (6)  those  expecting  to  attend  a 
college  of  liberal  arts. 

scores  above  the  state  median,  higher  than  is  the  case  for 
the  liberal  arts  group.     (Compare  Table  III,  page  29.) 


36      INTELLIGENCE   OF   HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

The  other  grades  of  intelligence  are  about  equally  dis- 
tributed in  the  two  groups. 

3.  College  intentions  of  the  brightest  and  dullest  high 
school  seniors  found  in  the  state.  From  the  data 
presented  in  Figures  4  and  5  it  appears  that  seniors 
possessing  the  higher  grades  of  intelligence  are  slightly 
more  likely  to  attend  college  than  the  seniors  who 
possess  the  more  inferior  grades.  This  fact  is  strikingly 
shown  in  Figure  6,  which  pictures  the  percentage  of  seniors 
belonging  to  the  several  groups  compared  in  this  section, 
who  were  rated  A  or  B  and  D,  E,  or  F  on  the  intelligence 
test.  Each  of  our  five  groups  is  here  compared  with  our 
state  standard  and  with  each  other  on  the  basis  of  the  per- 
centage of  students  belonging  to  the  group  who  were 
rated  A  or  B  and  D,  E,  or  F.  Figure  7  shows  the  sex 
differences  which  occurred  within  each  of  these  groups. 

These  results  show  clearly  that  the  brighter  students 
are  a  little  more  likely  to  attend  college  than  those  possess- 
ing mediocre  and  inferior  grades  of  mental  ability ;  that 
the  seniors  with  the  most  superior  grades  of  intelligence 
are  slightly  more  likely  to  go  to  college  than  not  to  attend ; 
and  that  the  brightest  students  are  more  likely  to  go  to  col- 
leges of  liberal  arts.  But  the  very  significant  fact  that  there 
are  about  as  many  individuals  of  mediocre  and  inferior 
grades  of  intelligence  going  to  college  as  students  rated  A  or 
B  is  not  emphasized  by  these  results. 

This  fact  is  shown  in  a  striking  manner  in  Figure  8. 
Figures  6  and  7  have  already  shown  that  a  large  percentage 
of  individuals  in  the  group  not  going  to  college  are  rated 
A  or  B  and  conversely,  that  there  are  almost  as  many 


INTELLIGENCE  AND  COLLEGE  INTENTION     37 

individuals  rated  D,  E,  or  F  in  the  groups  going  to  college 
as  seniors  possessing  the  higher  grades  of  ability.  Figure 
8  shows  the  per  cent  of  students  possessing  each  grade  of 
intelligence  (A+  to  F)  who  are  (1)  going  to  college,  no 
college  selected ;  (2)  going  to  a  liberal  arts  college ;  (3)  go- 
ing to  a  professional  or  technical  school;  (4)  the  per- 


Perc 
30- 

ent 

15- 

10- 

RATED    '*" 

AorB     I0" 

5- 

0 
GROUPS 
0 

5- 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

1 

10- 

RATED    ,5_ 
D,EorF    1Q. 

1 

75- 

••  BOYS 
ESS  GIRLS 

30- 

FIGURE  7.  —  Same  groups  compared  in  Figure  6  distributed  according 

to  sex. 

centage  not  going  to  college.  A  mere  glance  at  this  figure 
will  reveal  the  fact  that  22  per  cent  of  all  students  rated 
A+  are  not  even  thinking  of  going  to  college;  that  24 
per  cent  of  the  students  rated  A  are  not  going  to  college ; 
that  of  those  rated  B  and  C+  28  and  33  per  cent  respec- 
tively do  not  intend  to  go  to  college ;  but  that  71  per  cent 


38      INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

of  the  students  rated  F,  68  per  cent  of  the  total  group  rated 
E~,  62  per  cent  of  the  group  rated  E,  and  64  per  cent  of 
the  group  rated  D  are  definitely  planning  to  attend  a  col- 

Percenl 

70  \ 

bO 
50 
40 

GOING    30 

TO 
COLLEGE  2° 


MENTAL 
RATINGS 


10- 
0 

0 
10 

20 

NOT     30, 
GOING   OU1 

10       40-1 
COLLEGE  ^ 


A+  A     B     C+  C    C-    D     E     E-   F 


"imp 


NO  COLLECE  SELECTED 

GOING  TO  LIBERAL  ARTS  COLLEGE 


GOING  TO  PROFESSIONAL  OR  TECHNICAL, 

COLLEGE, 

FIGURE  8.  —  College  intention  of  high  school  seniors  possessing  each 
grade  of  intelligence  —  shows  the  percentage  belonging  to  each 
intelligence  group  who  are,  (1)  going  to  college,  (2)  not  going  to 
college,  (3)  going  to  college,  no  selection  made,  (4)  going  to  a  col- 
lege of  liberal  arts,  (5)  going  to  a  technical  or  professional  college. 

lege  or  university  as  soon  as  they  graduate  from  high  school. 
Many  of  these  most  inferior  high  school  seniors  have  their 
college  already  selected,  as  is  indicated  by  the  shadings  in 


INTELLIGENCE  AND  COLLEGE  INTENTION     39 

the  figure.  The  kind  of  college  which  these  seniors  will 
attend  is  indicated  by  the  different  styles  of  shading  on 
the  bars  representing  the  group. 

4.  General  summary  of  facts.  The  outstanding  facts 
revealed  by  this  comparison  of  the  intelligence  scores  made 
by  seniors  with  different  college  intentions  are  the 
following : 

1.  High  school  seniors  with  all  grades  of  mental  ability, 
from  the  lowest  to  the  highest,  are  going  to  college  in  about 
equal  numbers.     Almost  as  many  students  possessing  E 
and  F  grades  of  intelligence  are  going  to  college  as  merit 
a  ranking  of  A+  or  A. 

2.  Many  of  the  brightest  students   graduating  from 
our  high  schools  are  not  planning  to  go  to  college  "at  all. 
Of  those  rated  A+,  22  per  cent  stated  they  never  expected 
to  attend  a  college  or  university.     Of  those  rated  A,  24 
per  cent  did  not  intend  to  continue  their  education  beyond 
the  high  school.     Of  those  rated  B,  28  per  cent  did  not 
expect  to  go  to  college. 

3.  Many  students,  on  the  other  hand,  with  the  lowest 
grades  of  intelligence  are  definitely  planning  to  go  to  col- 
lege, many  of  them  having  already  selected  the  college 
they  expect  to  attend.     Of  those  ranking  D  and  E,  64 
and  62  per  cent,  respectively,  stated  that  they  would  at- 
tend college  next  year.     Only  78  per  cent  of  the  seniors 
ranked  A+  stated  that  they  were  going  to  college. 

4.  Taken  as  a  whole  the  students  who  have  decided 
to  go  to  college  rank  slightly  higher  on  the  intelligence 
tests  than  do  those  who  have  not.     Those  selecting  a  col- 
lege of  liberal  arts  rank  higher  than  any  other  group. 


40      INTELLIGENCE    OF   HIGH   SCHOOL   SENIORS 

Those  who  have  selected  a  definite  college  to  attend  rank 
higher  than  those  who  have  not  decided  where  to  go. 

5.  The  brightest  students,  those  rated  A+,    A,  or  B, 
are  slightly  more  likely  to  go  to  college  than  those  whose 
test  scores  placed  them  in  the  middle  or  lower  intelligence 
grades.     (Compare  Figures  4,  5,  and  8.) 

6.  The  more  intelligent  the  student  the  more  likely  he 
is  to  have  selected  the  college  he  will  attend  (see  shadings 
in  Figure  8),  and  to  attend  a  college  of  liberal  arts.    A 
greater  proportion  of  students  rated  A+  or  A   select  a 
college  of  liberal  arts,  while  more  students  rated  C+  and 
C  are  planning  to  go  to  a  professional  or  technical  school, 
as  may  be  seen  by  the  crossing  of  the  curves  in  Figure  5. 
This  fact  makes  the  per  cent  of  the  latter  group  scoring 
above  the  state  median  slightly  higher  than  for  the  liberal 
arts  group. 

7.  For  every  level  or  grade  of  intelligence  the  boys 
rank  higher  than  the  girls.    These  sex  differences  hold  for 
all  groupings  made  in  this  section.     The  higher  the  grade 
of  intelligence  the   greater  is  the  percentage  of  boys. 
(Compare  Figure  7  and  Chapter  XIII.) 

5.  Discussion  and  interpretation  of  results.  From  the 
facts  revealed  in  this  section,  it  is  clear  that  students 
with  every  grade  of  native  mental  endowment  possessed 
by  high  school  seniors  enter  our  colleges  and  univer- 
sities each  year.  Moreover,  there  are  about  as  many 
seniors  going  to  college  who  possess  mediocre  grades  of  in- 
telligence for  high  school  seniors,  as  those  who  possess 
the  most  superior  grades.  What  quality  of  work  should 
be  expected  from  college  students  who  vary  so  greatly 


INTELLIGENCE  AND  COLLEGE  INTENTION    41 

in  mental  capacity  ?  How  may  intelligence  tests  or  re- 
liable mental  ratings  assist  college  authorities  in  giving  to 
these  young  people  the  kind  of  educational  direction 
and  guidance  that  they  need  ? 

(a)  Readjustments  are  needed.  If,  as  we  may  assume, 
individuals  possessing  a  superior  or  B  grade  of  ability, 
when  measured  by  a  standard  obtained  from  a  normal 
group  of  unselected  adults,  are  capable  of  making  a  good 
record  in  college,  we  may  safely  conclude  that  any  high 
school  senior  who  makes  a  score  above  the  median  or  aver- 
age score  for  our  total  or  standard  group  is  capable,  so  far 
as  native  mental  ability  is  concerned,  of  doing  good  work 
in  college.  If  he  makes  a  score  very  far  above  this 
middle  paint  in  our  state  standard,  we  may  conclude  that 
he  has  the  mental  capacity  to  do  superior  work  as  a  fresh- 
man in  college  and  should  be  expected  to  do  so. 

But  since  the  results  given  in  this  chapter  clearly  show 
that  high  school  seniors  with  all  grades  of  mental  ability 
are  planning  to  attend  college  in  about  equal  numbers,  we 
must  conclude  that  many  individuals  will  and  do  attend 
college  who  cannot  do  average  or  first-class  work  unless 
college  standards  are  adjusted  to  the  intellectual  level  of 
such  students  as  actually  attend.  College  authorities 
and  instructors  should  not  expect  the  same  quantity  or 
quality  of  work  from  students  who  vary  so  greatly  in  native 
mental  endowment.  They  should,  on  the  other  hand, 
use  the  knowledge  that  has  been  obtained  concerning  these 
differences  in  intelligence  and  adjust  their  work  thereto. 
One  of  two  things  might  be  done.  If  high  school  seniors 
possessing  all  grades  of  intelligence  are  admitted  indis- 


42     INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

criminately  into  our  colleges  and  are  definitely  encouraged 
to  attend,  as  is  now  the  case,  some  arrangements  should 
be  made  for  grouping  these  students  into  classes  or 
sections  on  the  basis  of  mental  strength  so  that  the  prob- 
lem of  instruction  might  be  facilitated  and  the  superior 
students  given  the  kind  of  opportunity  and  assistance 
which  their  special  ability  demands. 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  chief  function  of  our  colleges 
and  universities  is,  as  many  believe,  to  train  leaders  for 
society  in  all  lines  of  human  endeavor,  special  provisions 
should  be  made  for  teaching  these  most  gifted  individuals, 
and  providing  the  kind  of  education  that  is  most  helpful 
to  them. 

(6)  Practical  value  and  need  of  the  mental  survey.  Ac- 
cording to  our  results  about  25  per  cent  of  the  students 
possessing  the  highest  grades  of  intelligence  found  among 
high  school  seniors  are  not  even  thinking  about  attending 
college,  while  about  65  per  cent  of  those  possessing  the 
lowest  grades  of  mental  ability  are  definitely  planning  to 
attend  the  higher  educational  institutions  of  the  state. 
What  can  be  done  to  encourage  and  help  the  former  class 
to  make  the  most  of  their  superior  mental  capacities  and 
talents?  And  how  can  the  latter  group  be  directed  in  a 
way  that  will  enable  them  to  find  the  work  in  life  that  is 
best  suited  to  their  native  mental  strength?  It  may  be 
questioned  whether  those  with  only  average  or  meager 
native  mental  endowment  should  be  definitely  discouraged 
from  attending  a  college  or  university,  but  every  one  would 
doubtless  agree  that  all  who  possess  superior  intelligence 
should  be  definitely  located  and  given  whatever  help  and 


INTELLIGENCE  AND  COLLEGE  INTENTION    43 

encouragement  is  needed  to  induce  them  to  continue  their 
education  until  they  are  properly  and  fully  trained. 
For  the  solution  of  this  problem  a  mental  survey  would 
prove  helpful  in  the  following  ways: 

(1)  A  state-wide  mental  survey  of  high  school  seniors 
would  enable  us  to  locate  this  superior  group  of  young 
people  and  hence  prepare  the  way  for  giving  them  such 
encouragement  and  help  as  they  may  need  to  make  them 
continue  their  education  in  college.     Giving  those  who 
actually  present  themselves  for  admission  to  college  an 
intelligence  test  and  using  the  results  of  such  tests  as  a 
criterion  for  admission  to  college  will  never  suffice,  for 
the  simple  reason  that  25  per  cent  of  the  most  brilliant 
seniors  in  our  high  schools  are  not  even  thinking  about 
going  to  college. 

(2)  A  little  careful  experimentation  made  in  coopera- 
tion with  the  colleges  and  universities  would,  we  believe, 
soon  reveal  a  point  on  the  intelligence  scale  below  which 
students  should  be  definitely  discouraged  from  entering 
a  university.     The  scholastic  record  made  by  former  senior 
students  now  attending  the  colleges  of  the  state  is  being 
investigated  and  correlations  established  between  their 
intelligence  scores  and  college  grades.     The  next  problem 
to  attack  is  to  establish  a  point  on  some  practical  and  reli- 
able intelligence  scale  below  which  high  school  students 
should  be  definitely  discouraged  from  entering  college. 
This  would  tend  to  reduce  the  congestion  in  our  universi- 
ties by  limiting  attendance  to  those  who  possess  the  men- 
tal qualities  required  for  leadership  in  every  field. 

(3)  Such  a  mental  survey  might  also   be   extended 


44      INTELLIGENCE   OF   HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

downward  to  the  seventh  and  eighth  grades  to  ascertain 
whether  our  high  schools,  as  now  organized  and  conducted, 
are  really  attracting  and  our  elementary  schools  conserving 
the  brightest  pupils  who  enter  the  public  schools.  It  may 
be  that  children  with  the  best  native  mental  endowment, 
for  pecuniary  or  other  reasons,  are  not  even  attending  our 
high  schools.  The  facts  should  be  determined  and  proper 
adjustments  made. 

(4)  A  mental  survey  is  also  needed  if  we  would  give 
these  young  people  the  right  sort  of  educational  and  vo- 
cational guidance  in  high  school  and  college.  One  of  the 
greatest  social  wastes  to-day  is  due  to  the  fact  that  so  many 
men  and  women,  because  of  present  economic  conditions 
or  lack  of  proper  direction,  are  engaged  in  occupations  far 
beneath  their  level  of  ability,  while  others  are  attempting 
work  too  complex  for  their  mental  strength.  Both  groups 
are  made  unhappy  and  inefficient  by  the  maladjustment. 
In  our  educational  work  we  are  ignoring  most  of  these 
facts.  Much  of  our  work  is  too  general  and  aimless  to  be 
effective.  And  a  bad  condition  is  made  worse  when  we 
attempt  to  train  young  people  in  professional  and  voca- 
tional schools  for  careers  wholly  unsuited  to  their  mental 
strength.  Systematic  mental  surveys  would  do  much  to 
correct  such  social  wastes.  If  such  surveys  were  made  of 
the  workers  now  engaged  in  standard  occupations,  they 
would  soon  reveal  the  level  of  intelligence  which  successful 
workers  in  every  field  actually  possess.  This  would  pro- 
vide norms  that  would  give  us  at  least  a  starting  point 
for  the  effective  vocational  and  educational  guidance  of 
youth. 


45 

(5)  Systematic  mental  surveys  would  also  help  us  to 
determine  why  students  with  superior  intelligence  often 
do  only  average  or  mediocre  work  in  high  school  and  college 
and  sometimes  fail  in  life,  while  students  with  only  average 
intelligence  often  succeed.  They  would  also  soon  get  us 
in  the  habit  of  not  expecting  an  'A'  grade  of  school  work 
from  students  possessing  an  E  or  F  grade  of  intelligence 
and  would  make  us  adapt  the  work  of  the  high  school  and 
college  better  to  the  marked  inequalities  in  mental  ability 
found  among  our  students. 

Other  values  of  the  mental  survey  will  be  pointed  out 
in  Chapter  XVI. 


CHAPTER   V 

INTELLIGENCE  OF  SENIORS  WHO  HAVE]  BEEN 

ACCELERATED,  RETARDED,  AND  REGULARLY 

PROMOTED  BY  THE  SCHOOL 

WITH  the  discovery  that  marked  individual  differences 
exist  among  children  of  the  same  age  or  children  belonging 
to  the  same  school  grade  (differences  in  endurance  or  vital 
capacity,  in  native  mental  endowment,  in  the  number  and 
kind  of  special  mental  abilities  possessed)  there  has  grown 
up  a  widespread  belief  that  progress  in  learning  should 
take  place  in  direct  proportion  to  the  native  mental  endow- 
ment which  a  given  individual  or  group  of  individuals 
possesses;  that  educational  accomplishment  should  be 
commensurate  with  intelligence  or  at  least  be  measured  in 
terms  of  the  native  mental  endowment  of  the  child  or 
group  whose  school  achievement  is  being  measured.  A 
number  of  psychologists  are  attempting  to  devise  methods 
whereby  this  may  be  successfully  done.1 

On  this  theory  we  would  naturally  expect  the  schools  of 
the  state,  if  they  had  been  truly  successful  and  efficient 
in  their  work,  to  have  accelerated  the  brightest  seniors  or 
those  with  the  best  mental  endowment ;  to  have  retarded 

1  See  particularly  the  study  by  Mrs.  L.  W.  Pressey,  "The  Measurement 
of  Intelligence  and  School  Attainment  in  the  First  Three  Grades,"  a 
dissertation  for  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Philosophy,  Indiana  University, 
June,  1920.  Compare  also  the  method  suggested  by  Rudolph  Pintner, 
"The  Mental  Survey,"  D.  Appleton  and  Co.,  New  York,  1918. 

46 


INTELLIGENCE   AND   SCHOOL  PROGRESS       47 

those  possessing  the  most  inferior  grades  of  intelligence; 
and  to  have  promoted  regularly  all  those  who  possess  only 
average  mental  ability.  In  the  light  of  these  develop- 
ments we  desired  to  determine  by  this  investigation  the 
extent  to  which  the  high  schools  of  the  state  were  adjusting 
themselves  to  the  inequalities  in  mental  strength  actually 
found  among  their  students.  We  were  particularly  inter- 
ested in  the  following  four  problems  which  will  be  consid- 
ered in  detail  in  this  chapter : 

1.  Are  the  high  schools  of  the  state  accelerating  as 
many  students  as  our  intelligence  tests  indicate  that  they 
should? 

2.  Are  they  able  to  locate  the  brightest  students  and 
to  make  adequate  provision  for  their  proper  advancement  ? 
That  is  to  say,  are  the  best  mentally  endowed  students 
permitted  to  complete  their  high  school  course  as  rapidly 
as  they  can  and  should  ?     Do  the  high  schools  of  the  state 
retard  only  such  students  as  rank,  in  general  intelligence, 
below  the  average  for  our  total  or  standard  group,  and  do 
they  promote  regularly  only  those  who  possess  average 
mental  ability  when  judged  by  this  standard  ? 

3.  Which  is  succeeding  better  in  adapting  its  organiza- 
tion and  work  to  the  mental  inequalities  and  interests  of 
its  pupils,  the  elementary  school  or  the  high  school? 

4.  Is  the  high  school  adapting  itself  in  all  these  respects 
as  well  to  the  interests  and  needs  of  the  boys  as  to  those  of 
the  girls? 

To  obtain  data  that  would  make  it  possible  to  answer 
these  questions,  information  was  secured  from  each  stu- 
dent regarding  his  age  at  time  of  graduation,  and  the  num- 


48     INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL   SENIORS 

her  of  semesters  he  had  spent  in  completing  his  four-year 
high  school  course.  These  statements  were  afterwards 
verified  by  the  teacher  giving  the  examination  and  in 
most  cases  by  the  high  school  principal,  who  provided  in 
addition  to  this  information  the  average  scholastic  grade 
made  by  each  senior  in  all  subjects  studied  during  his  jun- 
ior year.  The  tabulations  of  the  mental  test  scores  were 
then  made  in  such  a  way  that  the  intelligence  scores  made 
by  the  students  who  were  accelerated  or  retarded  in  high 
school  could  be  compared  with  the  scores  made  by  the 
group  that  had  been  regularly  promoted  and  with  our 
state  standard. 

1.  Number  of  students  accelerated,  retarded,  and 
normally  advanced  by  the  school.  The  first  problem  was 
to  ascertain  whether  there  were  as  many  pupils  in  the 
senior  classes  of  Indiana  high  schools  who  had  been  ac- 
celerated, retarded,  and  normally  advanced  in  school  as 
the  inequalities  in  intelligence  revealed  by  this  study 
would  lead  us  to  expect.  The  number  accelerated  or 
retarded  during  their  high  school  course,  and  the  num- 
ber normally  advanced,  are  shown  by  the  number  of 
semesters  each  student  required  to  complete  his  high  school 
course.  Some  completed  a  four-year  course  in  six  semesters 
or  three  years,  others  required  ten  or  twelve  semesters  to 
graduate.  Most  seniors  completed  the  course  in  normal 
time,  or  eight  semesters.  The  exact  situation  with  regard 
to  the  seniors  who  took  the  mental  tests  is  shown  in 
Table  IV,  which  gives  the  per  cent  of  our  total  group  who 
were  (1)  accelerated,  (2)  retarded,  and  (3)  regularly 
advanced  by  the  high  school.  If  they  graduated  in  six  or 


INTELLIGENCE   AND   SCHOOL  PROGRESS       49 


seven  semesters,  they  were  judged  accelerated;  if  they 
required  nine  or  more  semesters  to  complete  a  four-year 
course,  they  were  judged  retarded ;  if  they  graduated  in 
eight  semesters,  they  were  considered  as  regularly  pro- 
moted in  high  school. 

TABLE  IV 

PKE  CENT  OP  SENIORS  WITH  ACCELERATED,  RETARDED,  AND  NORMAL 
STANDING  IN  HIGH  SCHOOL 


Per  cent  accelerated  (graduating  in  6 
or  7  semesters)    

BOYS 

GIRLS 

SEXES 
COM- 
BINED 

CASES 

5.5 

6.13 

5.85 

338 

Per  cent  retarded  (graduating  in  9  to 
12  semesters)  

4.5 

3.28 

3.78 

217 

Per  cent  with  normal  standing  (grad- 
uating in  8  semesters)   

90.00 

90.60 

90.34 

5193 

Total  cases  

2306 

3442 

5748 

5748 

TABLE  V 
SAME  RESULTS  GIVEN  IN  TABLE  IV  DISTRIBUTED  BY  SEMESTERS 


PER  CENT  COMPLETING  THEIR  HIGH  SCHOOL  COURSE  IN  : 

BOYS 

GIRLS 

SEXES 
COM- 
BINED 

6  Semesters  

.91 

1.28 

1.13 

7  Semesters  ...                                            .    . 

4.59 

4.85 

4.73 

8  Semesters  .... 

90.00 

90.60 

90.34 

9  Semesters  .  .           .        .        

2.86 

2.33 

2.58 

10  Semesters.  .  .  .  .*  

1.48 

.90 

1.13 

11,  12  Semesters  

.17 

.02 

.09 

Total   cases  

2306 

3442 

5748 

Table  VI  shows  the  per  cent  of  students  who  were  re- 
tarded or  accelerated  at  some  time  during  their  entire 
school  course ;  also  the  proportion  of  seniors  who  had  been 
regularly  advanced.  For  purposes  of  comparison  we  con- 


50     INTELLIGENCE    OF   HIGH   SCHOOL   SENIORS 


sidered  that  a  senior  had  normal  school  standing  through- 
out the  high  school  and  grades  if  he  had  completed  the 
work  of  the  eight  grades  and  four  years  of  high  school  in 
twelve  years,  graduating  from  high  school  at  18.  Those 
seniors,  therefore,  who  graduated  at  15,  16,  or  17  were 
counted  as  accelerated  in  their  total  school  standing 
from  1  to  3  years.  Those  graduating  when  they  were 
19,  20,  21,  22,  or  more  years  of  age  were  counted  as  re- 
tarded 1  to  4  years.1  Where  or  how  the  time  was  lost  we 
cannot  tell.  The  table  gives  the  per  cent  of  our  total 
number  who  belonged  to  each  of  these  groups. 

TABLE  VI 

PER  CENT  op  SENIORS  ACCELERATED,  RETARDED,  AND  NORMALLY 
ADVANCED  THROUGHOUT  THEIR  ENTIRE  SCHOOL  COURSE 


BOYS 

GIRLS 

SEXES 
COM- 
BINED 

TOTAL 

CASES 

Normal  Group 
Per   cent  completing  high  school  at 
ase  of  18.  . 

39.4 

40.1 

39.85 

2268 

Accelerated  Group 
Per  cent  completing  high  school  at  age 
of  15,  16,  or  17  

40.2 

43.2 

42.01 

2392 

Retarded  Group 
Per  cent  completing  high  school  at  age 
of  19  to  23  

20.3 

16.6 

18.14 

1088 

Total  cases  

2306 

3442 

5748 

5748 

JThis  does  not,  of  course,  take  into  account  the  fact  that  some  of  the 
seniors  accelerated  one  or  more  years  in  their  school  standing  may  have 
been  taught  at  home  before  starting  to  school  and  so  gained  a  grade  or 
two  outside  of  school,  or  that  others  may  have  lost  a  year  or  more  OP 
account  of  illness.  It  is  believed,  however,  that  the  method  gives  a  fair 
measure  of  the  amount  of  retardation  and  acceleration  which  occurred 
among  the  group  of  students  tested. 


INTELLIGENCE   AND   SCHOOL  PROGRESS       51 


TABLE  VII 

TOTAL  PEK  CENT  OF  ACCELERATES,  NORMALS,  AND  RETARDS  DIS- 
TRIBUTED BY  AGE 


PEB  CENT  COMPLETING  HIGH 
SCHOOL  AT  AGE  or  : 

BOYS 

GlBLS 

SEXES 
COM- 
BINED 

TOTAL 
CASES 

15 

.57 

.46 

.51 

29 

16 

7.20 

6.93 

7.04 

401 

17 

32.38 

35.81 

34.45 

1962 

18 

39.40 

40.10 

39.85 

2268 

19 

16.08 

13.45 

14.68 

836 

20  to  27 

4.25 

2.92 

3.46 

252 

Total  cases  

2306 

3442 

5748 

5748 

2.  Number  of  seniors  with  superior,  average,  and  in- 
ferior intelligence.  The  percentage  of  students  who 
made  superior,  average,  and  inferior  scores  on  the  mental 
tests  is  shown  in  Table  VIII.  As  said  before,  a  mental 
rating  of  A+  or  A  indicates  very  superior;  B  superior; 
C+  or  C  and  C~  high  average,  average,  and  low  average, 
respectively;  D  and  E  low  and  inferior;  E~  and  F  very 
inferior  intelligence  for  high  school  seniors. 

TABLE  VIII 
GRADES  OF  INTELLIGENCE  POSSESSED  BY  HIGH  SCHOOL  SENIORS 


SUPERIOR 

AVERAGE 

INFERIOR 

Intelligence 
grades  

A+     A    B 

c+  c   c- 

D  E   E~  F 

Per  cent  of  total 
group    possess- 
ing each  

2      6      14 

22     11     19 

13    7    5    1 

52     INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

According  to  this  method  of  ranking,  22  per  cent  of  all 
seniors  tested  possessed  very  superior  or  superior  intelli- 
gence ;  52  per  cent  possessed  average  intelligence ;  and  26 
per  cent  possessed  inferior  or  very  inferior  grades  of  intelli- 
gence for  high  school  seniors. 

It  therefore  appears  that  there  were  fewer  students 
retarded  during  their  school  career  than  were  ranked 
D,  E,  or  F  on  the  mental  tests.  Only  20.3  per  cent  of  the 
boys  and  16.6  per  cent  of  the  girls  were  retarded,  while 
26  per  cent  ranked  D,  E,  or  F  on  our  tests.  On  the  other 
hand,  there  were  more  students  accelerated  one  or  more 
years  in  their  total  school  standing  than  were  ranked  A  or 
B  on  our  tests.  Of  the  total  group  giving  information  on 
this  point,  42  per  cent  had  saved  one  or  more  years  during 
their  entire  school  course,  while  only  22  per  cent  earned  an 
intelligence  rating  of  A  or  B  on  the  tests.  If  we  add  to 
this  number  the  students  belonging  to  the  C+  group  (most 
of  the  students  accelerated  made  scores  on  our  mental  tests 
which  gave  them  a  C+  rating),  we  get  a  percentage  figure 
(44)  which  practically  equals  the  number  that  were 
advanced  by  the  school  more  rapidly  than  normal.  That 
is  to  say,  42  per  cent  of  our  total  group  were  accelerated 
at  some  time  during  their  entire  school  course;  44  per 
cent  made  scores  of  A,  B,  or  C+  on  the  mental  tests.  About 
40  per  cent  of  our  total  group  had  been  regularly  advanced 
throughout  their  entire  school  course,  but  only  30  per  cent 
of  our  total  group  obtained  a  mental  rating  of  C  or  C~  on 
the  tests.  If  we  add  to  this  number  all  those  rated  D, 
we  would  have  43  per  cent,  which  comes  within  3  per  cent 
of  the  number  promoted  regularly  each  year. 


INTELLIGENCE   AND   SCHOOL  PROGRESS       53 

It  seems,  therefore,  that  most  of  the  high  average  group 
(those  ranked  C+)  have  been  accelerated  at  some  time  dur- 
ing their  public  school  career,  while  all  rated  C  and  C~  and 
practically  all  of  those  rated  D  have  been  normally 
advanced.  We  may  conclude  that  the  number  of  individ- 
uals who  have  been  accelerated,  retarded,  and  normally 
advanced  by  the  elementary  schools  corresponds,  at  least 
roughly,  to  the  number  ranking  as  superior,  average,  or 
inferior  in  general  intelligence. 

But  the  figures  for  the  high  school  are  very  different. 
Here  only  5.85  per  cent  have  been  accelerated,  90.34  per 
cent  have  been  normally  advanced,  while  only  3.78  per 
cent  have  been  retarded  during  their  high  school  course. 
(See  Table  IV.)  But  22  per  cent  of  these  same  individuals 
made  an  A  or  B  rating  on  the  mental  tests;  52  per  cent 
were  rated  C+,  C,  or  C~  (high  average,  average,  or  low 
average) ;  and  26  per  cent  made  a  D,  E,  or  F  (inferior) 
rating  on  the  mental  tests.  If  we  assume  that  those  who 
made  an  intelligence  rating  of  C+  and  over  are  capable 
of  being  accelerated  (most  of  those  who  were  accelerated 
in  high  school  made  an  intelligence  rating  of  C+)  and  that 
those  rated  D  were  capable  of  making  normal  progress, 
we  would  have  44  per  cent  who  should  have  completed 
the  course  in  less  than  normal  time ;  43  per  cent  in  normal 
or  average  time ;  and  13  per  cent  in  more  than  four  years. 
Over  against  this  we  have  the  actual  records  for  senior 
classes  which  show  that  less  than  6  per  cent  were  actually 
permitted  to  complete  their  high  school  course  in  less  than 
normal  time;  less  than  4  per  cent  were  retarded,  while 
90  per  cent  were  kept  on  the  course  a  full  four  years. 


54     INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

That  is  to  say,  more  than  twice  as  many  seniors  were  kept 
on  their  course  a  full  four  years  as  the  intelligence  scores 
indicate  should  be  regularly  promoted.  About  seven  times 
as  many  made  an  intelligence  rating  indicating  that  they 
should  be  accelerated  as  were  permitted  to  shorten  their 
high  school  course,  and  less  than  one-third  as  many  were 
actually  retarded  as  our  intelligence  records  indicate  that 
there  should  be. 

It  appears,  therefore,  that  the  high  school  is  not  adapt- 
ing itself  to  the  inequalities  in  native  mental  endowment 
of  its  students  as  well  as  it  should,  nor  as  well  as  the  ele- 
mentary school.  We  must  conclude  either  that  other 
factors  besides  intelligence  play  an  important  role  in  pro- 
ducing school  success  and  that  these  factors  act  more  rig- 
idly in  the  high  school  than  in  the  elementary  school ;  that 
our  tests  do  not  give  us  an  adequate  measure  of  the  native 
mental  endowment  of  these  students;  or  that  many 
students  are  working  far  below  their  best  standard  of 
attainment  in  high  school  and  so  are  acquiring  habits  of 
laziness  or  inefficiency  because  their  superior  ability  is  not 
recognized  and  the  work  of  the  school  adapted  to  their 
mental  strength  and  needs.  Our  scale  has  been  thoroughly 
tested  and  found  reliable ;  hence  we  must  look  to  the  other 
two  factors  for  an  explanation  of  these  facts. 

3.  Intelligence  of  seniors  whom  the  school  accelerated, 
retarded,  and  regularly  promoted.  Our  second  purpose  in 
making  these  comparisons  was  to  ascertain  the  grade  of 
intelligence  possessed  by  the  seniors  actually  accelerated, 
retarded,  and  regularly  promoted  by  the  school.  We 
wished  to  know  whether  our  high  schools  are  accelerating 


INTELLIGENCE  AND  SCHOOL  PROGRESS       55 


their  brightest  students,  holding  back  or  failing  only  such 
pupils  as  are  below  average  in  intelligence,  and  promoting 
regularly  those  whose  intelligence  is  average  when  com- 
pared with  the  general  level  of  ability  of  our  total  or 
standard  group.  To  collect  data  which  would  bear  di- 
rectly on  this  problem,  we  tabulated  our  results  so  that 
we  might  study  separately  those  accelerated,  retarded, 
and  normally  advanced  by  the  school.  We  shall  there- 
fore attempt  to  determine  (1)  the  general  level  of  in- 
telligence possessed  by  each  of  these  groups,  (2)  the  pro- 
portion of  individuals  belonging  to  each  group  who 
possess  various  grades  of  intelligence,  and  (3)  the  extent 
to  which  the  schools  actually  select  the  brightest  students 
for  special  advancement  and  retard  or  fail  those  with  in- 
ferior mentality. 

TABLE  IX 

PER  CENT  ACCELERATED,  RETARDED,  AND  REGULARLY  PROMOTED 
BY  THE  HIGH  SCHOOL,  SCORING  ABOVE  THE  STATE  MEDIAN 


GROUPS  COMPARED 

ACCELERATED 

NORMAL 

RETARDED 

CASES 

Semesters  Required 
to  Graduate 

6 

7 

8 

9          10 

11.12 

Boys    .... 
Girls     .... 

86 

66 

62 
60 

53 

47 

54      54 
54       15 

25 
00 

2306 
3442 

Sexes  combined 

72 

61 

49 

54      33 

20 

5748 

PER  CENT  ACCELERATED,  RETARDED,  AND  REGULARLY  PROMOTED  IN 
THE  HIGH  SCHOOL  AND  GRADES,  SCORING  ABOVE  THE  STATE  MEDIAN 


GROUPS  COMPARED 

ACCELERATED 

NORMAL 

RETARDED 

CASES 

Age  at  Graduation 

15       16       17 

18 

19      20    21-27 

Boys    .... 
Girls     .... 

73    74    63 
81     68    55 

51 
44 

36    29    35 
33    29    31 

2306 
3442 

Sexes  combined 

78    69    59 

47 

34    29    33 

5748 

56     INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH  SCHOOL  SENIORS 

(a)  General  level  of  intelligence  of  the  seniors  accelerated, 
retarded,  and  regularly  promoted  by  the  school.  This  is 
indicated  by  the  per  cent  of  seniors  belonging  to  each 
of  these  groups  who  made  scores  on  the  intelligence 
tests  above  the  median  for  oiir  total  or  standard  group. 
The  figures  are  given  in  Table  IX,  which  shows  that  the 

TEST  SCORE 

8O    90     100    IIO     170     130     KO     ISO     160     170    180 


PERCENTILES 


10 


99 


INTELLIGENCE 


RATING      F  E-  E          D         C-     C       O       B         A          A* 

FIGURE  9.  —  Scores  obtained  by  the  middle  50  per  cent  of  the  seniors 
graduating  from  high  school  in  6,  7,  8,  9,  10,  or  12  semesters,  and 
those  graduating  when  15,  16,  17,  18,  19,  20,  21  to  27  years  of  age. 
Horizontal  bars  indicate  range  in  score.  Vertical  cross-bars  indi- 
cate the  median  score  for  the  several  age  and  semester  groups. 

students  accelerated  by  the  school,  if  taken  as  a  group, 
rank  consistently  higher  than  those  retarded  or  only  regu- 
larly promoted. 

A  better  idea  of  the  general  level  of  intelligence  of 
these  several  groups  may  be  gained  from  Figure  9,  which 


INTELLIGENCE   AND   SCHOOL  PROGRESS       57 

shows  the  record  made  on  the  mental  tests  by  the  middle 
50  per  cent  of  the  seniors  belonging  to  each  semester  and 
age  group.  The  horizontal  bars  in  this  figure  indicate  the 
record  made  by  the  middle  50  per  cent  of  individuals  be- 
longing to  the  several  age  and  semester  groups.  The 
vertical  cross-bars  show  the  median  score  for  each  group. 
The  figure  shows  very  clearly  how  far  superior  in  central 
tendency  the  students  are  who  completed  their  high 
school  course  in  6  or  7  semesters,  or  graduated  from  high 
school  when  only  15,  16,  or  17  years  of  age.  It  shows  also 
how  far  below  the  state  standard  the  groups  fall  who 
were  retarded  in  their  total  school  standing  one  or  more 
years.1 

It  should  also  be  pointed  out  that  the  groups  accelerated 
by  the  school  are  superior  at  every  level  of  ability  to  the 
groups  retarded  or  only  normally  advanced.  This  is 
shown  by  the  percentile  curves  presented  in  Figures  10  and 
11.  That  is  to  say,  the  seniors  belonging  to  the  acceler- 
ated groups  making  scores  which  place  them  in  the  lower 
sectors  of  our  total  distribution  do  not  fall  quite  so  low  on 
the  tests  as  do  the  individuals  belonging  to  the  retarded 
group.  In  fact,  they  rank  higher  for  every  percentile 
level  than  either  the  normal  or  retarded  group.  And  the 
result  is  the  same  no  matter  whether  we  compare  those 
accelerated  in  the  high  school  (the  semester  groups)  or 

1  It  might  be  stated  in  this  connection  that  Mr.  Rice,  whose  study  of 
the  correlation  between  intelligence  rating  and  average  school  marks  is 
described  in  the  next  chapter,  found  a  negative  correlation  between  intel- 
ligence and  age  of  .38,  P.  E.  .05.  And  between  age  and  scholastic  success 
during  their  four-year  high  school  work  of  .47,  P.  E.  .05.  Master's 
Thesis,  Indiana  University,  June,  1920. 


58     INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 


those  accelerated  and  retarded  at  some  time  during  their 
entire  school  course,  the  various  age  groups.  Compare 
Figures  10  and  11,  which  are  typical  for  all  the  age  and 

semester  groups. 

TEST  SCORE 
180-j 


170- 
160 
150 
140- 
130- 
120 
110- 
100- 
90- 


1 / 


/ 


/ 


»1      6  SEMESTER  GROUP 
*1     10  SEMESTER  GROUP 

—  BOYS 

GIRLS 


PERCENTILE    GROUPS 


70- 
60 

15         10       10  75        40     ^5O       6O       8O       90  95  99 

FIGURE  10.  —  Curves  showing  scores  obtained  by  various  proportionate 
groups  of  boys  and  girls  accelerated  (6-semester  group)  and  retarded 
(10-semester  group)  one  year  in  high  school. 


59 


(6)  Grades  of  intelligence  possessed  by  the  seniors  whom 
the  school  has  accelerated,  retarded,  and  normally  advanced. 
We  were,  however,  interested  not  merely  in  determining 


TEST 
SCORE 


1  GRADUATING  AT  AGE  of  15 


GRADUATING  AT  AGE  of  10 

BOYS 
GIRLS 


5          IO        70        4O 
PERCENTILE     GROUPS 


9O  95  99 


FIGURE  11.  —  Curves  showing  scores  obtained  by  proportionate  groups 
of  boys  and  girls  graduating  at  age  of  15,  accelerated  three  years, 
and  20,  retarded  two  years,  during  their  entire  school  course. 


60      INTELLIGENCE   OF   HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

the  general  level  of  intelligence  of  the  seniors  belonging 
to  these  several  groups,  but  also  in  ascertaining  the 
exact  grades  of  intelligence  which  each  of  these  groups 
actually  possessed.  This  was  done  by  calculating  the 
percentage  of  seniors  belonging  to  these  several  groups, 
who  possessed  each  grade  of  intelligence  from  the  highest 

Percent 
30  T 


15- 

2O- 

15- 

IO- 

5- 

0 


/N 

/         X 
/  N 


/      //—ACE   16  \          V 

/          //       ACE    18  \ 

ACE    19  \ 


A+       A          B          O       C         C-       D          E  E-       F 

RATED 

FIGURE  12.  —  Frequency  curves  for  seniors  graduating  from  high  school 
at  ages  of  16,  18,  and  19,  showing  the  percentage  belonging  to  each 
group  who  possess  each  grade  of  intelligence  from  the  highest  (A+) 
to  the  lowest  (F). 

to  the  lowest.  Typical  results  from  these  comparisons 
are  shown  in  Figures  12  and  13,  which  reveal  again  the  su- 
periority of  the  groups  accelerated  by  the  school  over  the 
groups  retarded  or  only  normally  advanced.  The  curves 
for  the  accelerated  groups  rise  above  the  curves  for  the 


INTELLIGENCE   AND   SCHOOL  PROGRESS       61 

retarded  and  normally  promoted  groups  at  all  points 
indicating  the  higher  grades  of  intelligence  and  pass  below 
them  at  all  points  indicating  the  lower  grades  of  intelligence. 
Figure  12  compares  the  seniors  accelerated  two  years  in 
total  school  standing,  the  16-year-old  group,  with  the 

Percent 


A+      A 

RATED 

FIGURE  13.  —  Frequency  curves  for  seniors  graduating  at  ages  of  15  and 
20,  showing  the  percentage  belonging  to  each  group  who  possess 
each  grade  of  intelligence  found  among  high  school  seniors. 

seniors  retarded  one  year  at  some  time  during  their  entire 
school  course,  the  19-year-old  group,  and  both  these  groups 
with  the  group  that  had  been  normally  advanced  by  the 
school.  As  may  readily  be  seen  from  a  glance  at  these 
curves,  the  group  graduating  at  16  is  distinctly  superior 


62     INTELLIGENCE  OF  HIGH  SCHOOL  SENIORS 

to  both  other  groups  in  the  percentage  of  individuals  be- 
longing to  the  group  who  possess  the  higher  grades  of 
ability.  This  curve  is  higher  at  all  points  representing 
the  A+,  A,  B,  and  C+  grades  of  intelligence  and  lower 
at  all  points  indicating  the  lower  grades  of  mental  ability. 
The  curve  for  the  normal  or  average  group  passes  about 
midway  between  the  other  two  curves  at  every  point  but 
one. 

Figure  13  shows  the  distribution  of  all  grades  of  ability 
for  the  seniors  graduating  at  the  ages  of  15  and  20  respec- 
tively. The  striking  feature  of  these  curves  is  the  large 
proportion  of  students  graduating  at  15  who  possess  a 
superior  or  B  grade  of  intelligence,  and  the  correlative 
fact  that  the  largest  percentage  of  seniors  graduating  at 
the  age  of  20  possess  only  a  C~,  D,  or  E  grade  of  intelli- 
gence. 

The  data  and  curves  for  all  the  age  and  semester  groups 
can,  of  course,  not  be  given  in  this  report.  But  the  data 
for  each  of  these  groups  was  prepared  and  curves  drawn 
for  comparative  study.  These  data  show  that  the  fre- 
quency curves  for  the  various  semester  groups  have  the 
same  general  tendencies  shown  by  the  curves  for  the  age 
groups  presented  in  Figures  12  and  13.  If  we  combine  the 
results  for  all  groups  accelerated  or  retarded  in  the  high 
school  or  elementary  grades,  we  get  the  results  shown  in 
Figures  14  and  15  below.  Figure  14  gives  the  record  for 
all  seniors  accelerated,  retarded,  and  regularly  advanced 
in  high  school.  It  shows  the  percentage  belonging  to  each 
group  who  possessed  each  grade  of  intelligence  from  the 
highest  to  the  lowest.  Figure  15  gives  similar  data  for  the 


INTELLIGENCE   AND   SCHOOL  PROGRESS       63 

seniors  who  were  accelerated,  retarded,  and  regularly  pro- 
moted during  their  entire  school  course. 

We  may,  therefore,  conclude  that  the  seniors  who  have 
been  advanced  more  rapidly  than  normal  by  the  school,  if 
taken  as  a  whole,  are  brighter  than  the  average  of  our  total 

Percent 
3Oi 


15 
20 
15 

n 

f/  \  \ 

IOH  ///    ACCELERATED  \       '* 

//       -REGULARLY  PROMOTED 

Jf         RETARDED  IN  HIGH  SCHOOI> 

5  • 


A+      A         B         C+       C        C-       D         E          E-       F 
INTELLIGENCE  GRADES 

FIGURE  14.  —  Frequency  curves  showing  the  percentage  of  all  seniors 
accelerated,  retarded,  and  regularly  promoted  in  the  high  school 
who  possess  each  grade  of  intelligence  (A+  to  F)  found  among  high 
school  seniors. 

or  standard  group,  and  that  those  who  were  retarded  by 
the  school  are  duller  than  our  total  or  standard  group. 
The  data  also  show  that  the  greater  the  acceleration  or 
retardation  the  brighter  or  duller  do  the  pupils  seem  to  be. 
The  most  significant  facts  revealed  by  our  comparative 
study  of  these  several  groups  are,  however,  not  brought 


64     INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

out  by  the  figures  and  tables  presented  thus  far.  We  were 
especially  interested  in  knowing  whether  the  schools  are 
succeeding  in  selecting  their  brightest  students  for  special 
advancement,  and  if  it  is  the  dullest  pupils  who  are  being 
retarded  by  the  school. 
Percent 

3On 


75 
20- 
15- 
10- 
5- 
O 


if  X  ^ 

''/       \^ 

,'  /  \  \       \ 

,      / ACCELERATED  \\N  \ 

// REGULARLY  PROMOTED\.X^X  . 

'/ RETARDED  IN  ELEMENT-    ^-    ^x      ^ 

ARY  SCHOOL 


A+      A          B         C+       C         C-       D         E          E-       F 

INTELLIGENCE  GRADES 

FIGURE  15.  —  Frequency  curves  showing  the  percentage  of  all  seniors 
accelerated,  retarded,  and  regularly  promoted  in  the  elementary 
school  who  possess  each  grade  of  intelligence  found  among  high 
school  seniors. 

(c)  Range  of  intelligence  of  the  seniors  ivhom  the  school 
has  accelerated,  retarded,  and  regularly  advanced.  If  we 
consider  the  percentage  of  students  belonging  to  each 
of  these  groups  who  possess  the  highest  (A  or  B)  and 
the  lowest  (D,  E,  or  F)  intelligence  grades  made  by  high 
school  seniors,  we  find  that  the  group  of  seniors  accel- 


INTELLIGENCE   AND  SCHOOL   PROGRESS       65 


crated  by  the  school  ranks  distinctly  higher  than  the  groups 
that  have  been  only  normally  advanced  or  actually 
retarded.  This  fact  holds  true  whether  we  consider  those 

Percent 
45 


30  H 
RATED 
AorB 

15  -\ 


GROUPS 


1 


8  9         10-17 


GRADUATING  in  Semesters    Sera.       Sem.        Sem.       Sem. 
O 


15- 

RATED 
D.E  orF 

30- 


45 


FIGURE  16.  —  Percentage  of  seniors  graduating  from  high  school  in  6 
to  12  semesters  who  possessed  the  highest  (A  or  B)  and  the  lowest 
(D,  E,  or  F)  grades  of  intelligence  found  among  high  school  seniors. 

who  were  accelerated  in  the  high  school,  or  those  acceler- 
ated, retarded,  or  regularly  promoted  during  their  entire 
school  course. 
Figure  16  shows  the  percentage  of  students  belonging  to 


66     INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH  SCHOOL  SENIORS 

the  several  semester  groups  who  possessed  the  highest 
and  lowest  grades  of  intelligence,  and  as  may  readily  be 
seen  there  is  a  regular  gradation  downwards  from  the  group 
graduating  in  6  semesters  to  the  group  requiring  10  or  12 
semesters  to  complete  a  four-year  high  school  course,  in- 
dicating that  the  groups  accelerated  by  the  high  school,  if 
taken  as  a  whole,  not  only  are  brighter  than  those  retarded 
or  regularly  promoted,  but  the  more  they  are  accelerated 
the  brighter  do  they  seem  to  be. 

Figure  17  presents  the  results  of  a  similar  comparison 
made  of  the  several  age  groups  and  shows  that  the  group 
of  seniors  graduating  at  the  age  of  15  has  a  much  larger 
percentage  of  students  ranking  A  or  B  on  the  intelligence 
tests,  and  a  smaller  percentage  ranking  D,  E,  or  F,  than 
are  found  in  our  total  or  standard  group;  that  it  is  de- 
cidedly superior  to  the  group  graduating  at  16,  while  the 
latter  group  is  superior  in  both  respects  to  the  group  grad- 
uating at  the  age  of  17,  and  so  on  down  the  list  to  the  oldest 
or  most  retarded  group. 

(d)  Brightest  seniors  are  not  accelerated.  If,  however, 
we  push  our  comparisons  one  step  further,  we  get  a  dif- 
ferent story.  The  range  in  score  for  the  group  normally 
advanced  by  the  school  extends  much  higher  on  the  intelli- 
gence scale  than  did  the  scores  for  the  students  who  had 
been  accelerated.  That  is  to  say,  the  brightest  students  in 
last  year's  graduating  classes  are  not  found  among  the 
group  which  the  school  accelerated,  but  among  the  group 
which  had  been  only  regularly  promoted.  A  large  per- 
centage of  these  brightest  seniors  are  even  found  among 
those  only  normally  advanced  throughout  their  entire 


INTELLIGENCE  AND   SCHOOL  PROGRESS       67 


Percent 
45- 


30  H 
tlATED 


AorB 


15- 


Oj 


Ini 


GROUPS 

GRADUATING  at  15        16        17         18        19        20    71-27 

O 


15- 


RATED 
0,E  orF 


30- 


45- 


FlGUKE  17.  —  Percentage  of  seniors  graduating  from  high  school  at 
various  ages  (15  to  27)  who  possessed  the  highest  (A  or  B)  and  the 
lowest  (D,  E,  or  F)  grades  of  intelligence  found  among  our  total 
or  standard  group. 


68     INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH  SCHOOL  SENIORS 

school  course.  In  other  words,  neither  in  the  high  school 
nor  in  the  elementary  grades  were  these  brightest  students 
located  and  advanced  more  rapidly  than  the  normal  rate  of 
promotion.  Our  distribution  tables  also  revealed  the  fact 
that  some  seniors  accelerated  from  one  to  three  years  in 
their  total  school  standing  possessed  only  average  and  at 
times  very  inferior  grades  of  intelligence.  On  the  other 
hand,  most  of  the  seniors  accelerated  by  the  schools  rank 
only  C+  in  the  intelligence  tests. 

Taking  as  an  example  the  group  of  seniors  who  possess 
a  very  superior  grade  of  intelligence  (the  A+  group),  we 
find  that  less  than  6  per  cent  of  this  group  were  acceler- 
ated by  the  high  school ;  90  per  cent  were  only  normally 
advanced ;  while  3  per  cent  were  actually  retarded.  On  the 
other  hand,  of  the  total  number  accelerated  by  the  school 
only  2  per  cent  possess  an  A+  grade  of  intelligence;  30 
per  cent  a  high  average  or  C+  grade  of  intelligence; 
the  rest  received  a  low  average  or  inferior  intelligence  rating 
on  our  tests.  (Compare  Figure  14,  page  63.) 

A  similar  tendency  is  found,  though  not  so  marked, 
among  those  accelerated,  retarded,  and  regularly  promoted 
in  the  elementary  schools.  And  it  appears  that  the  bright- 
est students  are  more  consistently  selected  for  double  pro- 
motion in  the  elementary  schools.  These  and  other  facts 
are  presented  in  detail  in  Tables  X  and  XI  below  and  Fig- 
ures 14  and  15,  pages  63  and  64. 

Table  X  divides  our  total  group  of  seniors  into  three 
classes :  (1)  those  accelerated  by  the  high  school,  (2)  the 
per  cent  normally  advanced,  and  (3)  the  per  cent  retarded 
from  one  to  four  semesters.  It  shows  the  percentage  pos- 


INTELLIGENCE   AND   SCHOOL  PROGRESS       69 

sessing  each  grade  of  intelligence  that  belong  to  each  of 

these  groups. 

TABLE  X 

PERCENTAGE  OP  THOSE  POSSESSING  EACH  GRADE  or  INTELLI- 
GENCE WHO  WERE  ACCELERATED,  RETARDED,  AND  REGULARLY 
PROMOTED  IN  HIGH  SCHOOL 


MENTAL  RATINGS 
OR  GRADES  OF 

INTELLIGENCE 

PER  CENT 
ACCELERATED 

PER  CENT 
REGULARLY 
PROMOTED 

PER  CENT 
RETARDED 

CASES 

A+ 

5.83 

90.83 

3.34 

120 

A 

7.14 

88.69 

4.16 

336 

B 

7.28 

88.94 

3.76 

796 

C+ 

8.05 

88.59 

3.34 

1254 

C 

6.52 

89.72 

3.76 

613 

c- 

5.36 

90.08 

4.55 

1099 

D 

3.68 

92.75 

3.55 

759 

E 

2.92 

93.43 

3.65 

411 

E- 

2.76 

93.42 

3.80 

289 

F 

1.41 

97.18 

1.41 

71 

Cases 

383 

5193 

217 

5748 

From  a  study  of  the  table  it  may  readily  be  seen  that 
most  individuals  possessing  superior  and  very  superior 
grades  of  intelligence  are  required  to  spend  four  years  on 
then*  high  school  course;  that  only  a  few  of  'the  ablest 
seniors  have  been  accelerated,  while  a  few  possessing  the 
most  superior  grades  of  intelligence  have  been  actually 
retarded.  Only  about  6  and  7  per  cent,  respectively,  of 
those  possessing  an  A+  or  A  grade  of  ability  were  advanced 
more  rapidly  than  normal  during  their  high  school  course ; 
about  91  and  89  per  cent  were  normally  advanced,  i.e. 
were  kept  in  high  school  eight  full  semesters  to  Complete 
their  course ;  while  3  and  4  per  cent  were  actually  retarded 
one  or  more  semesters.  And  what  seems  just  as  astound- 


70     INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH  SCHOOL  SENIORS 

ing  and  paradoxical  is  the  fact  that  about  3  per  cent  of  the 
pupils  rated  E,  and  H  per  cent  of  the  seniors  rated  F,  were 
accelerated  one  or  more  semesters  in  high  school ;  93  and 
97  per  cent  of  those  possessing  these  lowest  grades  of  intelli- 
gence were  regularly  promoted;  while  only  about  4  and 
1£  per  cent  were  retarded  one  or  more  semesters.1  (See 
Table  X,  page  69.) 

Table  XI  gives  similar  data  for  the  seniors  who  were 
(1)  accelerated,  (2)  retarded,  and  (3)  normally  advanced 
throughout  their  entire  school  course.  Here  we  get  a 
somewhat  different  story.  Of  the  students  accelerated 
at  some  time  during  their  entire  school  course,  67  and  61 
per  cent  possess  an  A+  or  A  grade  of  intelligence.  Only 
5  and  8  per  cent  of  this  group  of  superiors  were  retarded 
at  some  time  during  their  entire  school  career;  28  and 
31  per,  cent  were  regularly  promoted.  A  much  larger 
percentage  (29,  17,  and  24  per  cent)  of  the  individuals 
accelerated  at  some  time  during  their  entire  school  course 
fall  into  the  lowest  intelligence  ranks  (E  and  F),  showing 
that  relatively  more  individuals  with  inferior  intelligence 
are  doubly  promoted  in  the  elementary  grades.  It  is  also 
worthy  of  note  that  there  is  a  regular  decline  in  the  per- 
centage belonging  to  the  accelerated  group  as  we  pass  from 
the  highest  to  the  lowest  grades  of  mental  ability,  and  con- 
versely for  the  retarded  group,  showing  that  the  elemen- 
tary school  is  in  general  promoting  the  brighter  students. 
(See  Table  XL) 

1  It  may  be  argued  that  all  those  who  are  admitted  to  advanced  stand- 
ing are  capable  mentally  of  being  regularly  promoted.  If  this  be  the  case, 
what  shall  we  say  about  the  most  superior  seniors  in  the  state  who  are 
only  regularly  promoted  ? 


INTELLIGENCE  AND   SCHOOL  PROGRESS       71 


TABLE  XI 

PER  CENT  OP  THOSE  POSSESSING  EACH  GRADE  OP  INTELLIGENCE 
WHO  HAVE  BEEN  ACCELERATED,  RETARDED,  AND  REGULARLY 
PROMOTED  IN  BOTH  THE  HIGH  SCHOOL  AND  ELEMENTARY 
SCHOOL 


GRADES  OF 
INTELLIGENCE 

PER  CENT 
ACCELERATED 

PER  CENT 
REGULARLY 
PROMOTED 

PER  CENT 
RETARDED 

TOTAL 
CASES 

A+ 

66.67 

28.45 

4.87 

120 

A 

60.91 

30.61 

8.48 

336 

B 

53.70 

35.30 

11.00 

796 

C+ 

46.46 

39.28 

14.26 

1254 

C 

42.95 

40.36 

16.67 

613 

c- 

37.69 

40.71 

21.59 

1099 

D 

30.90 

46.03 

22.95 

759 

E 

29.23 

41.79 

29.00 

411 

E- 

17.24 

41.72 

41.03 

289 

F 

24.26 

26.09 

49.28 

71 

Cases 

2392 

2268 

1088 

5748 

From  the  facts  already  presented  in  Figures  14  and  15 
above,  it  may  be  seen  that  aside  from  the  facts  just 
presented  there  is  little  difference  in  the  type  of  student 
which  the  schools  elect  for  acceleration.  In  both  the 
high  and  elementary  schools  more  students  possessing  a  B 
or  C  grade  of  intelligence  are  accelerated  than  belong  to 
any  other  intelligence  rank.  The  elementary  school  seems 
to  accelerate  a  few  more  students  rated  A  than  does  the 
high  school.  But  it  also  seems  to  retard  more  students 
possessing  superior  intelligence  than  does  the  high  school. 
With  these  exceptions  the  tables  show  the  same  general 
tendencies,  which  may  be  briefly  summarized  as  follows: 

1.   Individuals  of  all  grades  of  ability  from  the  highest 


72     INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH  SCHOOL  SENIORS 

to  the  lowest  are  accelerated,  retarded,  and  normally 
promoted  by  both  the  high  and  elementary  school. 

2.  A  larger  percentage  of  individuals  belonging  to  the 
higher  grades  of  intelligence  are  accelerated  by  both  than 
are  retarded,  and  conversely,  most  individuals  retarded 
possess  a  low  average  or  inferior  grade  of  intelligence. 

3.  But  a  large  majority  of  the  seniors  accelerated  pos- 
sess only  average  or  high  average  intelligence. 

4.  The  brightest  seniors  are  not  selected  for  accelera- 
tion. 

5.  All  these  facts  hold,  though  in  varying  degrees,  for 
both  the  high  school  and  elementary  school. 

4.  Sex  differences.  Three  of  the  four  questions  raised 
by  the  data  presented  in  this  chapter  have  now  been 
answered.  The  schools,  particularly  the  high  schools, 
are  not  accelerating  as  many  of  their  students  as  the 
intelligence  tests  indicate  that  they  should.  They  are 
promoting  only  regularly  many  students  who  should  be 
accelerated,  if  our  mental  test  scores  may  be  taken 
as  a  criterion  of  the  success  that  should  be  attained 
in  school.  Moreover,  the  brightest  seniors  were  never 
accelerated  and  the  high  school  is  not  adapting  itself  as 
well  to  the  inequalities  in  the  mental  strength  of  its  pupils 
as  is  the  elementary  school.  Our  fourth  question,  whether 
the  high  school  is  adapting  itself  as  well  to  the  mental 
capacities  and  interests  of  the  boys  as  to  the  girls,  is  an- 
swered by  the  facts  revealed  by  our  comparative  study  of 
the  intelligence  scores  of  the  boys  and  girls  who  were 
actually  accelerated,  retarded,  and  regularly  promoted  by 
the  school. 


INTELLIGENCE   AND  SCHOOL  PROGRESS       73 


As  was  shown  in  Chapters  II  and  III  the  boys  who  took 
our  mental  tests  made  consistently  higher  scores  than  did 
the  girls.  They  showed  every  indication  of  possessing 
grades  of  mental  ability  superior  to  that  possessed  by  the 
girls  who  took  our  mental  tests.  We  would  therefore 
expect  them  to  have  been  more  rapidly  advanced  by  the 
school  than  were  the  senior  girls. 

Figure  18  compares  the  boys  and  girls  belonging  to  the 
various  semester  groups  on  the  basis  of  central  tendency 


TBST  SCORE 

so     90     too    no 


170       130       140      ISO      IbO      170      ISO 


PERCENTILES 


90    95 


99 


INTELLIGENCE  OATING 


f  E-  E          D         C-     C       O       B         A          At 

FIGUKE  18.  —  Scores  obtained  by  middle  50  per  cent  of  the  boys  and 
girls  belonging  to  the  several  semester  groups  (6,  7,  8,  9,  and  10). 
Horizontal  bars  show  range  in  score.  Vertical  cross-bars  indicate 
median  scores  for  each  group. 

and  shows  how  much  brighter  are  the  boys  who  have 
been  accelerated  and  retarded  a  year,  in  high  school 
than  the  girls  belonging  to  similar  groups.  This  is  not 
so  marked  for  the  age  groups,  as  may  be  seen  by  consulting 


74    INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL   SENIORS 


Figure  19,  which  shows  that  the  boys  and  girls  who  have 
been  accelerated  or  retarded  three  years  during  their  en- 
tire school  course  are  much  more  nearly  equal  in  intelli- 
gence than  are  the  6-  and  10-semester  groups. 


TEST  SCORE 

80      90       100      110 


120       130       140       ISO       I6O       170       180 


PERCENTILBS    5 


90    95 


21-27 


99 


F  E-  E 

INTELLIGENCE  GRADES 


c-    c     c+ 


B 


A  + 


FIGURE  19.  —  Scores  obtained  by  middle  50  per  cent  of  boys  and  girls, 
graduating  at  different  ages  (15,  16,  17,  to  27).  Horizontal  bars 
show  range  in  score.  Vertical  cross-bars  indicate  median  score 
for  each  age  group. 

The  same  point  is  brought  out  if  we  compare  the  stu- 
dents accelerated  in  high  school  and  those  accelerated  in 
the  elementary  school  on  the  basis  of  the  range  of  intelli- 


INTELLIGENCE   AND   SCHOOL   PROGRESS       75 


Percent 
60 


45- 


RATED 

AorB 


30- 


15- 


0 


I 


SEMESTER 

GROUPS  6 

COMPAREDQ 


1 


FIGURE  20.  —  Percentage  of  boys  and  girls  graduating  in  6,  7,  8,  9,  or 
10  semesters  who  possess  the  highest  (A  or  B)  and  the  lowest  (D, 
E,  or  F)  grades  of  intelligence. 


76     INTELLIGENCE   OF   HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

gence  possessed  by  these  several  groups.  Figure  20  com- 
pares the  boys  and  girls  graduating  from  high  school  in  6, 7, 
8,  9,  and  10  semesters,  on  the  basis  of  the  percentage  belong- 
ing to  each  group  who  possess  the  highest,  or  A  and  B  grades 
of  intelligence,  and  the  lowest,  or  D,  E,  and  F  grades. 
It  shows  that  a  much  larger  percentage  of  the  boys  acceler- 
ated in  high  school  are  rated  A  or  B  (53  and  33  per  cent 
respectively)  than  girls  (27  and  19  per  cent  respectively). 
This  difference  in  favor  of  the  boys  is  out  of  all  proportion 
to  the  slight  superiority  in  mental  ability  that  has  been 
shown  by  them  throughout  the  study. 

The  same  superiority  of  the  boys  appears  if  we  com- 
pare the  per  cent  of  boys  and  girls  making  scores  above  the 
state  median.  This  was  86  and  62  per  cent  respectively 
for  the  boys  graduating  in  6  and  7  semesters,  and  only  66 
and  60  per  cent  for  the  girls.  The  reason  that  the  differ- 
ence is  less  for  the  7-semester  group  is  obviously  due  to 
the  fact  that  in  this  comparison  were  included  all  those 
who  made  a  ranking  of  C+  on  the  tests,  the  grade  of  intelli- 
gence possessed  by  most  of  the  girls  accelerated  by  the 
school. 

The  same  point  is  brought  out  in  a  negative  way  if  we 
examine  the  record  made  on  the  tests  by  the  boys  and  girls 
who  were  retarded  in  high  school.  Of  the  group  of  boys 
kept  in  high  school  10  or  more  semesters  to  complete  their 
four-year  course,  20.58  per  cent  made  an  intelligence  rating 
of  A  or  B.  Among  the  girls  requiring  an  equal  amount  of 
time  to  complete  their  high  school  course  none  made  a  score 
on  the  mental  tests  which  entitled  them  to  an  A  or  B  intel- 
ligence rating,  but  58  per  cent  of  this  same  group  of  girls 


INTELLIGENCE   AND   SCHOOL  PROGRESS       77 


merited  an  intelligence  rating  of  D,  E,  or  F,  as  contrasted 
with  only  20  per  cent  for  the  boys.     (Compare  Figure  18.) 

Percent 


45- 


30  < 

RATED 
AORB 

15-1 


AGE 

OF  GROUPS  15 

COMPARED.,    ,,    i 


Ib 


21-17 


15 

RATED 

DEo«F 

30- 


GIRLS 


60  -I 

FIGURE  21. —  Percentage  of  boys  and  girls  graduating  at  age  of  15  to 
27  who  possess  the  highest  (A  or  B)  and  lowest  (D,  E,  or  F)  grades 
of  intelligence. 

If  we  compare,  on  this  basis,  the  boys  and  girls  who  have 
been  accelerated  or  retarded  as  much  as  three  years  during 


78     INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH  SCHOOL  SENIORS 

their  entire  school  course,  namely,  those  graduating  at  the 
age  of  15  and  20,  or  21-27,  we  find  little  difference  between 
the  percentage  of  boys  and  girls  that  made  the  highest, 
A  or  B,  and  the  lowest,  D,  E,  or  F,  intelligence  rating. 
(See  Figure  21,  page  77.) 

Frequency  curves,  showing  the  percentage  of  boys  and 
girls  belonging  to  the  several  age  and  semester  groups  who 
possess  each  grade  of  ability  from  A+  to  F,  reveal  the 
fact  that  the  girls  who  required  10  or  more  semesters  to 
graduate  from  high  school  are  decidedly  inferior  in  mental 
ability  to  the  boys  retarded  an  equal  time  in  their  high 
school  work.  For  example,  none  of  the  girls  requiring  10 
semesters  to  graduate  made  a  mental  rating  above  C~. 
The  entire  group  made  scores  which  gave  them  a  C~,  D, 
E,  or  F  intelligence  rating.  The  case  is  quite  different  for 
the  boys.  The  boys  who  spent  10  or  more  semesters  in 
high  school  made  scores  on  our  mental  tests  which  placed 
them  at  every  level  of  mental  ability.  In  other  words  if  a 
girl  is  retarded  in  high  school,  we  may  conclude,  on  the  basis 
of  our  results,  that  she  possesses  inferior  mental  ability. 
This  is  not  the  case  for  the  boys.  Many  boys  who  have 
been  retarded  possess  superior  grades  of  ability.  (Com- 
pare also  the  10-semester  groups  in  Figure  18  already  re- 
ferred to.) 

If  we  compare  the  various  age  groups,  we  get  a  different 
result.  For  example,  we  have  about  the  same  percentage 
of  boys  as  girls  graduating  at  the  ages  of  15  (three  years 
accelerated)  and  19  (one  year  retarded)  who  made  scores 
giving  them  an  intelligence  rating  of  A  or  B.  This  would 
seem  to  indicate  that  the  high  school  work  is  not  so  well 


INTELLIGENCE   AND   SCHOOL  PROGRESS       79 

adapted  to  the  interests  and  needs  of  the  boys  as  to  the 
girls. 

If  further  evidence  were  needed  to  establish  this  point, 
it  may  be  found  in  the  fact  that  the  girls  accelerated  in 
their  high  school  course  made  a  much  lower  rating  on  the 
mental  tests  than  did  the  boys  who  were  thus  accelerated. 
Of  the  girls  graduating  in  six  semesters  11.37  per  cent 
made  an  intelligence  rating  of  D,  E,  or  F,  while  only  4.76 
per  cent  of  the  boys  in  the  corresponding  group  were 
rated  as  low.  (See  Figure  18  above.)  But  notwithstand- 
ing these  facts  more  girls  than  boys  were  accelerated  by 
the  school.  Some  other  reason  besides  native  mental 
endowment  must  be  found  to  account  for  the  fact  that  the 
girls  were  more  rapidly  advanced  by  the  school  than  the 
boys. 

That  the  cause  for  this  ill  adjustment  lies  in  the  high 
school  rather  than  in  the  elementary  school  is  shown  by 
the  fact  that  the  same  general  tendencies  described  above 
for  the  high  school  or  semester  groups  are  found  in  the  age 
groups,  but  to  a  smaller  degree.  The  boys  in  the  various 
age  groups  are  still  superior  to  the  girls,  both  in  intelli- 
gence (compare  age  groups  in  Figures  18  and  19)  and  in  the 
frequency  with  which  they  are  found  among  the  groups 
possessing  the  higher  grades  of  ability.  (Compare  Figures 
20  and  21  and  the  frequency  curves  in  Figures  22  and  23.) 
But  when  we  compare  the  several  age  and  semester  groups 
in  both  these  respects  we  find  that  the  differences  in  favor 
of  the  boys  are  much  greater  for  the  semester  groups 
(those  accelerated  and  retarded  by  the  high  school)  than 
for  those  who  are  accelerated  and  retarded  by  the  elemen- 


80     INTELLIGENCE    OF   HIGH   SCHOOL   SENIORS 


tary   school.     In  the   elementary   schools  the   girls   are 
brighter  than  the  boys ; l  hence  we  would  naturally  expect 

Percent 


30- 

25- 

20- 

15- 

10- 


0 


BOYS 
GIRLS 


INTELLIGENCE  RATINGS 


A+      A         B         C+      C         C-       D 

FIGURE  22.  —  Frequency  curves  showing  percentage  of  boys  and  girls 
graduating  at  age  of  15  who  possess  each  grade  of  intelligence  (A+ 
to  F)  found  among  high  school  seniors. 

1  See  study  made  by  Mrs.  L.  W.  Pressey,  using  these  same  tests  on 
children  in  the  elementary  school  grades.  Published  in  the  Journal  of 
Applied  Psychology,  December,  1918,  Vol.  II,  pp.  323-340.  In  this 
study  the  girls  made  consistently  higher  scores  on  the  intelligence  tests 
than  did  the  boys. 


INTELLIGENCE  AND   SCHOOL  PROGRESS      81 

the  differences  between  the  boys  and  girls  belonging  to 
the  age  groups  to  be  less  than  they  are  in  the  high  school 
where  the  boys  are  distinctly  brighter  than  the  girls.  But 
notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the  senior  boys  tested  in 

Percent 
30 


15- 
'0- 


5- 


/    \\ 

'  \^ 

BOYS  \      \ 


GIRLS 


— i —    — i —    — i —    — i 1 i- 

A+      A          B          C+       C         C-        D          E  E-       F 

INTELLIGENCE  GRADES 

FIGURE  23.  —  Frequency  curves  showing  percentage  of  the  boys  and 
girls  graduating  at  age  of  17  who  possessed  each  grade  of  intelli- 
gence found  among  high  school  seniors. 

this  study  are  distinctly  brighter  than  the  girls,  the  latter 
have  been  advanced  more  rapidly  by  the  high  schools. 

From  the  records  covering  the  entire  12-year  period  that 
our  seniors  were  in  school,  we  find  that  43  per  cent  of  the 
girls  were  accelerated  by  the  school  while  40  per  cent  of  the 
boys  were  accelerated.  We  also  find  more  boys  retarded, 
20.3  per  cent  of  the  boys  as  against  16.6  per  cent  of  the 


82 

girls.  This  is  what  we  should  expect,  since  the  girls  in 
the  elementary  schools  make  higher  intelligence  scores 
than  the  boys  and  since  the  boys  accelerated  and  retarded 
by  the  elementary  schools  show  less  superiority  over  the 
girls  than  those  accelerated  and  retarded  in  the  high  school. 
In  the  high  school  the  situation  is  just  the  reverse.  We 
still  have  a  larger  percentage  of  girls  accelerated  than  boys 
(6.13  per  cent  of  girls  and  only  5.5  per  cent  of  the  boys) 
and  a  larger  per  cent  of  the  boys  retarded.  But  here  the 
boys  make  distinctly  and  consistently  higher  scores  on  the 
intelligence  tests  than  the  girls.  It  would,  therefore,  ap- 
pear that  the  high  school  is  adapting  itself  better  to  the 
interests  and  needs  of  the  girls  than  the  boys,  and  is  not 
adapting  itself  as  well  to  the  inequalities  in  mental  strength 
of  either  sex  as  is  the  elementary  school. 

We  must  conclude  either  that  the  high  school  work  is 
better  adapted  to  the  interests  and  needs  of  the  girls, 
that  the  girls  are  more  conscientious  and  persistent  about 
their  high  school  work,  and  therefore  more  successful,  or 
that  our  tests  are  better  adapted  to  the  boys.  That  the 
latter  is  not  the  case  has  been  shown  by  the  results  obtained 
by  giving  the  same  tests  to  many  thousands  of  school  chil- 
dren in  several  states.  In  the  grades  below  the  high  school 
the  girls  have  been  consistent  in  making  scores  on  the  same 
mental  tests  which  are  distinctly  higher  than  the  scores 
made  by  the  boys  for  every  school  grade  and  every  age 
up  to  14. l 

'Compare  study  by  Mrs.  L.  W.  Pressey,  "Sex  Differences  Shown  by 
2544  School  Children  on  a  Group  Scale  of  Intelligence,  with  Special  Ref- 
erence to  Variability,"  Journal  of  Applied  Psychology,  December,  1918, 
Vol.  II,  pp.  323-340. 


INTELLIGENCE   AND   SCHOOL  PROGRESS       83 

We  are  not  interested  here  in  the  probable  cause  of  the 
sex  differences  in  the  elementary  grades  or  in  the  high 
school,  but  in  the  fact  that  senior  boys  in  high  school  rank 
consistently  higher  in  intelligence  than  the  girls,  while  the 
girls,  notwithstanding  this  fact,  have  been  advanced  more 
consistently  and  rapidly  by  the  high  school  than  the  boys. 

6.  General  summary  of  facts.  Summarizing  the  more 
important  facts  revealed  by  the  entire  chapter,  we  may 
note  the  following: 

1.  The  elementary  school  is  doubly  promoting  about 
as  many  individuals  as  our  study  would  lead  us  to  expect. 
Forty  per  cent  of  the  boys  and  43  per  cent  of  the  girls  tak- 
ing our  tests  have  been  advanced  by  the  school  more  rap- 
idly than  normal.     Twenty  per  cent  of  the  boys  and  17 
per  cent  of  the  girls  have  been  retarded ;  40  per  cent  have 
been  regularly  promoted.     Of  these  same  seniors  44  per 
cent  made  a  superior  rating  on  our  tests ;  43  per  cent  made 
an  average  rating;    13  per  cent  made  an  inferior  rating. 
This  is  about  what  we  should  expect  from  the  inequal- 
ities in  mental  strength  which  our  tests  have  revealed. 
Whether  or  not  the  elementary  schools  are  promoting 
these  students  as  rapidly  as  their  mental  ability  warrants, 
we  cannot  tell. 

2.  The  high  school,  on  the  other  hand,  is  accelerating 
fewer  students  than  our  study  indicates  that  it  should. 
Only  5.5  per  cent  of  the  boys  and  6.13  per  cent  of  the  girls 
were  accelerated  at  any  time  during  their  high  school 
course;    90  and  91  per  cent  respectively  were  regularly 
promoted ;  4.5  per  cent  of  the  boys  and  3.28  per  cent  of  the 
girls  were  retarded.    Of  these  same  individuals  22  per 


84     INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

cent  made  scores  on  our  tests  which  entitled  them  to  an 
intelligence  rating  of  A  or  B,  indicating  a  superior  grade  of 
native  mental  endowment;  52  per  cent  made  an  intelli- 
gence rating  of  C,  indicating  average  intelligence  for  high 
school  seniors ;  26  per  cent  made  an  intelligence  rating  of 
D,  E,  or  F,  indicating  an  inferior  grade  of  intelligence. 

3.  That  the  school  is  succeeding  to  a  considerable  ex- 
tent in  adapting  its  work  to  the  inequalities  in  mental 
strength  found  among  its  pupils  is  shown  by  the  fact  that 
the  seniors  who  were  advanced  more  rapidly  than  normal, 
in  either  the  high  school  or  elementary  grades  ranked, 
when  taken  as  a  group,  consistently  higher  on  the  mental 
tests  than  did  the  seniors  who  were  retarded  or  only  nor- 
mally advanced.     It  is  also  true  that  the  greater  the  accel- 
eration or  retardation  the  brighter  or  duller  does  the  group 
seem  to  be. 

4.  In  this  respect  the  high  school  is,  however,  not  suc- 
ceeding as  well  as  the  elementary  school.     In  the  elemen- 
tary school  42  per  cent  of  our  total  group  were  accelerated 
from  one  to  three  years  at  some  time  during  their  entire 
school  course ;  44  per  cent  made  a  superior  and  high  aver- 
age intelligence  rating  on  the  mental  tests.     In  the  high 
school  only  5.85  per  cent  of  our  total  group  of  seniors  fin- 
ished their  high  school  course  in  less  than  normal  time, 
while  about  91  per  cent  were  regularly  promoted  and  4  per 
cent  retarded. 

5.  The  brightest  seniors  in  our  total  list  were   never 
selected  for  acceleration,  either  by  the  high  school  or  in  the 
elementary  grades.     Seniors  with  high  average  or  slightly 
superior  intelligence  were  advanced  more  rapidly  than 


INTELLIGENCE   AND   SCHOOL  PROGRESS       85 

normal,  in  largest  numbers.  None  of  the  seniors  who  made 
an  intelligence  rating  which  placed  them  in  the  highest 
one  percentile  group  were  found  in  any  of  the  accelerated 
groups.  The  most  gifted  individuals  had  either  not  been 
located  by  the  school  or  if  discovered  were  not  permitted 
to  complete  their  course  in  less  than  normal  time.  Most 
of  the  students  accelerated  made  intelligence  scores  which 
gave  them  a  mental  rating  of  C+  or  B. 

6.  Most  individuals  possessing  superior  or  very  superior 
intelligence  have  been  only  regularly  promoted  by  the 
high  school.     Only  a  few  have  been  accelerated,  while 
some  of  these  superior  individuals  have  been  actually  re- 
tarded.    Of  the  seniors  who  possessed  an  A+  or  A  grade 
of  ability  only  6  and  7  per  cent  respectively  were  advanced 
more  rapidly  than  normal  in  the  high  school ;    91  and  90 
per  cent  of  this  same  group  were  only  normally  advanced, 
while  3  and  4  per  cent  of  these  superior  students  were  ac- 
tually retarded  one  or  more  semesters  while  completing 
their  high  school  course. 

7.  Most  high  school  seniors  possessing  inferior  grades 
of  intelligence  (93  to  97  per  cent)  have  been  regularly 
promoted  in  high  school,  while  a  few  belonging  to  this  in- 
ferior group  (2  to  3  per  cent)  have  been  actually  accel- 
erated. 

8.  The  high  school  seems  also  better  adjusted  to  the 
interests  and  needs  of  the  girls.     The  boys  taken  as  a  whole 
ranked  decidedly  higher  on  the  intelligence  tests  than  did 
the  girls,  but  notwithstanding  this  fact,  the  girls  have  been 
more  rapidly  promoted  in  high  school  than  the  boys,  and 
more  boys  than  girls  have  been  retarded.     The  boys 


86    INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

accelerated  by  the  school  made  a  decidedly  and  con- 
sistently higher  rating  on  the  mental  tests  than  did  the 
girls  who  were  accelerated.  Twice  as  many  boys  accel- 
erated in  high  school  made  an  intelligence  rating  of  A  or 
B  as  did  the  girls  who  were  advanced  more  rapidly  than 
normal.  Many  girls,  on  the  other  hand,  with  an  inferior 
intelligence  rating  were  accelerated.  Of  the  girls  graduat- 
ing in  three  years  11.36  per  cent  made  a  D,  E,  or  F  rating 
on  the  tests.  The  boys  retarded  by  the  high  school  are 
much  brighter  than  the  girls  who  failed  of  promotion. 
Many  boys  with  superior  ability  (21  per  cent)  were  found 
in  the  group  retarded  from  one  to  three  years.  No  girls 
with  superior  ability  or  even  with  high  average  ability 
were  found  in  the  retarded  group.  If  a  girl  is  retarded  in 
high  school,  we  may,  on  the  basis  of  our  test  results,  assume 
that  she  possesses  inferior  intelligence.  In  fact,  58  per 
cent  of  the  girls  retarded  in  high  school  made  an  intelligence 
rating  of  only  D,  E,  or  F. 

9.  That  the  ill  adjustment  is  greater  in  the  high  school 
than  in  the  elementary  school  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  in 
the  elementary  grades  only  a  few  more  girls  than  boys 
are  accelerated  and  a  few  more  boys  than  girls  retarded. 
Here  the  girls  are  consistent  in  making  higher  grades  on 
the  mental  tests.  But  in  the  high  school  the  situation  is 
reversed.  We  still  have  more  girls  than  boys  accelerated, 
and  more  boys  retarded,  but  here  the  boys  who  remain 
to  graduate  make  distinctly  higher  records  on  the  intelli- 
gence tests  than  do  the  girls. 

6.  Discussion  and  interpretation  of  results.  The 
above  comparisons  of  the  intelligence  ratings  of  the 


INTELLIGENCE   AND   SCHOOL  PROGRESS       87 

students  accelerated,  retarded,  and  normally  promoted 
by  the  school  show  clearly  that  the  high  schools  of  the 
state  are  not  adapting  themselves  to  the  inequalities  in 
native  mental  strength  of  their  students  as  well  as  they 
should;  that  they  are  accelerating  too  few  students; 
that  the  teachers  and  school  officials  do  not  select  the  most 
intelligent  students  for  such  special  advancement;  that 
the  brightest  students  in  the  state  are  not  being  selected 
either  by  the  high  school  or  in  the  grades  for  acceleration ; 
and  lastly  that  those  selected  for  special  advancement 
possess  only  a  high  average  grade  of  intelligence.  Sum- 
marizing the  results  of  all  tables  and  figures  in  this 
chapter,  we  find  that  more  than  twice  as  many  of  our 
seniors  were  kept  on  their  course  four  years  as  possessed 
an  average  grade  of  intelligence  for  high  school  seniors. 
About  seven  times  as  many  possessed  a  very  superior 
grade  of  intelligence  as  were  permitted  to  shorten  their 
course.  And  less  than  one-third  of  the  group  possessing 
very  inferior  grades  of  general  intelligence  were  actually 
retarded  by  the  high  school. 

We  must  conclude  either  that  the  high  schools  are  not 
adapting  themselves  adequately  to  the  inequalities  in 
mental  strength  found  among  their  students,  or  that  other 
factors  besides  intelligence  play  an  important  role  in  pro- 
ducing school  success  and  that  these  factors  act  more  rig- 
idly in  the  high  school  than  in  the  elementary  school. 
On  the  face  of  our  results  it  appears  that  many  students  in 
high  schools  are  working  far  below  their  best  standard 
of  attainment,  and  so  are  acquiring  habits  of  laziness  and 
inefficiency  because  their  work  is  ill  adapted  to  their 


88     INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL   SENIORS 

mental  strength  and  needs.  We  need  to  determine  more 
accurately  than  has  ever  been  done  the  causes  for  success 
and  failure  in  school  —  to  determine  why  the  brighter 
students  are  not  selected  by  the  school  for  special  advance- 
ment and  why  students  who  are  known  to  be  superior  in 
native  mental  endowment  are  not  advanced  more  rapidly 
during  their  high  school  career.  It  seems  to  be  a  habit  of 
high  school  officials  to  keep  their  students  in  high  school 
for  four  years  regardless  of  their  ability  to  do  the  work, 
suggesting  that  in  many  cases  habits  of  working  far  below 
the  best  level  of  attainment  are  being  formed  by  these  su- 
perior students,  which  will  serve  as  a  permanent  handicap. 
The  writer  has  in  mind  the  case  of  a  mathematical 
genius  who  was  kept  in  high  school  four  long  years  when  he 
clearly  could  have  completed  the  work  in  2  f  or  3  years' 
time  without  injury  to  his  health,  and  doubtless  with  psy- 
chological profit  to  himself.  He  made  high  grades  in 
every  study.  No  problem  in  mathematics  could  be 
found  by  his  teacher  that  he  could  not  solve  almost  at 
sight.  He  had  to  work  on  his  assignments  so  little  that 
he  was  idle  most  of  the  time.  That  this  enforced  idleness 
did  not  ruin  the  boy  cannot  be  placed  to  the  credit  of  the 
school.  He  was  merely  content  to  busy  himself  with  his 
own  interests  and  with  mathematical  musings  during  his 
leisure  time.  In  due  time  he  graduated  from  high  school 
and  entered  a  university,  where  he  finished  in  two  years 
all  the  courses  in  mathematics  offered.  He  graduated  in 
less  than  three  years,  and  in  his  post  graduate  work  this 
record  was  maintained.  It  appears  that  his  genius  and 
special  interest  in  mathematics  saved  him  from  falling  a 


INTELLIGENCE   AND   SCHOOL  PROGRESS       89 

prey  to  slovenly  habits  of  work  and  kept  him  from  losing 
his  native  interest  for  mathematics  and  school.  It  also 
kept  him  from  developing  habits  of  mental  laziness,  which 
might  have  been  acquired.  We  can  only  speculate  in 
regard  to  how  much  time  was  actually  lost  to  the  boy  and 
the  injury  that  is  done  to  most  bright  boys  and  girls  by 
the  situation  in  our  high  schools  revealed  by  the  facts 
presented  above. 

In  order  to  speed  up  the  necessary  military  training  in 
the  army  and  to  conserve  to  the  fullest  extent  all  grades  of 
mental  ability  and  skill  possessed  by  enlisted  men,  the 
divisions  of  the  army  were  organized,  so  far  as  possible, 
on  the  basis  of  equal  mental  strength.  In  this  manner 
it  was  demonstrated  that  the  necessary  military  training 
could  be  greatly  speeded  up.  This  was  particularly  the 
case  in  the  officer's  training  camps  where  those  with  supe- 
rior grades  of  intelligence  were  separately  grouped  and 
their  tasks  and  training  adjusted  to  their  capacity  to  learn. 
How  far  the  high  schools  fall  short  of  such  an  organiza- 
tion, calculated  to  conserve  the  talents  of  individuals 
with  all  grades  of  native  mental  ability  by  adjusting  their 
work  to  their  interests  and  native  mental  strength,  is 
clearly  indicated  by  the  facts  presented  in  this  chapter. 
We  should  learn  to  evaluate  school  achievement  and  to 
measure  progress  in  learning  in  terms  of  mental  capacity  ; 
that  is  to  say,  learn  to  apply  in  education  the  parable  of  the 
talents.  In  no  other  way  can  the  capacities  and  native 
powers  of  our  students  be  fully  conserved  and  the  work  of 
the  school  made  truly  economical  and  efficient.  Methods 
should  be  speedily  devised  whereby  the  school  could  be 


90     INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

organized  and  the  work  carried  on  in  accordance  with  this 
principle. 

That  the  maladjustment  is  greater  in  the  high  school 
than  in  the  grades  is  important,  because  the  high  school 
has  presumably  conserved  the  most  superior  youths. 
Those  with  the  most  mediocre  and  inferior  grades  of  intelli- 
gence presumably  have  been  dropping  out  of  school  all 
along  the  way,  until  only  the  ablest  remain.  The  special 
variety  of  talents  in  this  highly  selected  group  should  be 
carefully  cultivated  and  zealously  conserved.  The  situa- 
tion cannot  be  met  or  the  poor  adjustment  explained  away 
by  saying  that  the  brighter  students  in  high  school  are 
given  an  opportunity  to  do  extra  work  in  the  various  sub- 
jects studied.  The  situation  calls  for  special  and  different 
treatment.  Any  and  all  special  mental  capacities  and  tal- 
ents possessed  by  this  select  group  of  individuals  should 
be  discovered  at  the  earliest  possible  date  and  such  adap- 
tations made  by  the  school  as  will  conserve  them  fully  to 
the  state.  If  necessary,  the  high  school  organization  and 
course  of  study  should  be  entirely  reorganized  so  that  these 
students  might  be  educated  more  in  accordance  with  their 
capacities  and  interests.  Arrangements  should  at  least 
be  made  whereby  each  student  could  advance  as  rapidly 
as  is  possible  for  him,  and  special  provision  should  be  made 
for  taking  care  of  that  small  group  of  individuals  who  pos- 
sess very  superior  mental  ability  or  talents. 

There  is  much  evidence  in  this  and  the  following  chap- 
ters to  show  that  the  most  superior  individuals  are  not 
being  properly  served  by  the  schools.  This  has  probably 
always  been  the  case  and  helps  to  explain  why  so  many 


INTELLIGENCE   AND   SCHOOL  PROGRESS       01 

people  who  fail  in  school  make  such  a  marked  success  in 
life  in  every  occupation.  The  least  we  could  do,  there- 
fore, would  be  to  determine  the  real  causes  for  failure 
and  success  in  school,  especially  the  causes  for  the  failure 
of  those  known  to  be  specially  gifted  in  native  mental  en- 
dowment and  the  unexpected  success  of  those  possessing 
only  average  mental  ability.  The  real  causes  for  the 
failure  and  success  of  students  in  school  should  be  sys- 
tematically investigated  and  the  grades  of  intelligence 
possessed  by  all  students  determined  so  that  they  might 
be  grouped  for  purposes  of  instruction  on  the  basis  of 
mental  strength. 

Perhaps  the  most  startling  group  of  facts  revealed  by 
the  above  comparisons  is  that  the  organization  and  work 
of  the  high  school  seems  better  adapted  to  the  interests 
and  needs  of  the  girls  than  the  boys.  The  reason  why  the 
girls  are  more  rapidly  promoted  than  the  boys  when  the 
boys  are  superior  to  the  girls  in  general  intelligence  needs 
explanation.  We  might  infer  that  the  girls  possess  mental 
characteristics  other  than  general  intelligence  important 
for  school  success,  characteristics  not  possessed  by  the 
boys.  If  true,  it  is  important  to  determine  what  these 
characteristics  are,  and  why  they  seem  to  work  better  in 
the  high  school  than  in  the  elementary  grades.  What  is 
more  likely  is  that  the  high  school  and  its  work  is  not  so 
well  adapted  to  the  interests  and  needs  of  the  boys  as  to 
the  girls.  The  nature  of  the  work  itself  may  be  poorly 
adapted  to  the  boys.  It  may  be  due  in  part  to  the  fact 
that  there  are  too  few  men  teachers  in  the  high  schools. 
The  problem  should  be  investigated  so  we  may  know  why 


92     INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL   SENIORS 

the  superior  boys  are  so  often  doing  an  inferior  grade  of 
school  work. 

We  also  need  more  accurate  methods  for  measuring 
school  attainment  or,  still  better,  for  measuring  the  rate 
and  amount  of  improvement  that  is  made  in  every  kind 
of  learning.  These  measurements  of  success  in  learning 
or  in  school  accomplishment  should  be  properly  coordi- 
nated with  the  results  obtained  from  a  study  of  the  native 
mental  endowment  of  pupils.  Progress  in  learning  should, 
in  fact,  always  be  evaluated  in  relation  to  the  native  mental 
ability  of  the  learner.  The  progress  which  an  individual 
can  and  is  expected  to  make  is  intimately  related  to  his  na- 
tive mental  endowment  or  ability  to  learn.  The  problem 
of  measuring  the  results  of  teaching  cannot  be  solved  peda- 
gogically  unless  worked  out  in  connection  with  a  practical 
and  reliable  scheme  of  mental  measurements. 

Investigations  along  all  these  lines  will  be  required  before 
the  problem  of  adjusting  the  organization  and  work  of  the 
school  to  the  interests  and  needs  of  individual  students 
can  be  fully  and  properly  solved. 


CHAPTER  VI 


IN  the  preceding  chapter  the  intelligence  of  the  high 
school  seniors  who  had  been  accelerated,  retarded,  or  nor- 
mally promoted  by  the  school  was  determined  and  com- 
pared with  the  state  standard.  It  was  found  that  those 
who  had  been  accelerated  in  high  school  or  at  some  time 
during  their  entire  school  course  ranked  decidedly  higher 
on  the  mental  tests  than  did  those  who  were  retarded  or 
only  normally  promoted,  but  that  the  brightest  high  school 
seniors  in  the  state  had  not  been  accelerated;  that  those 
doubly  promoted  by  the  school  possessed,  as  a  rule,  only 
a  high  average  grade  of  intelligence,  that  some  students 
with  very  superior  grades  of  intelligence  were  retarded; 
that  others  with  inferior  intelligence  were  accelerated; 
and  that  practically  all  belonging  to  the  highest  intelligence 
rank  for  high  school  seniors  had  been  only  regularly  pro- 
moted in  high  school,  along  with  those  who  possessed  the 
lowest  grades  of  intelligence. 

It  has  been  generally  assumed  that  students  possessing 
a  superior  or  very  superior  grade  of  intelligence  can  and 
will  do  a  superior  grade  of  school  work.  On  this  theory 
intelligence  tests  have  recently  been  used  by  certain  uni- 

93 


94     INTELLIGENCE  OF  HIGH  SCHOOL  SENIORS 

versitiesin  place  of  the  usual  college  entrance  examinations, 
and  candidates  are  being  selected  for  university  scholar- 
ships on  the  basis  of  the  records  they  make  on  intelligence 
tests.  Pupils  in  the  public  schools  have  also  been  doubly 
promoted  by  progressive  teachers  and  superintendents 
merely  on  the  basis  of  the  strength  shown  in  intelligence 
tests.  In  most  of  these  cases  such  students  have  been 
successful  in  their  academic  work.  But  the  results  cited 
in  the  preceding  chapter  and  other  data  recently  gathered 
by  our  own  laboratory  indicate  pretty  clearly  that  other 
mental  characteristics  besides  intelligence  are  important 
factors  in  determining  school  success.  On  the  basis  of 
the  facts  presented  in  the  preceding  chapter  we  must  con- 
clude either  that  teachers  and  school  officials  are  failing  in 
their  work,  that  our  measures  of  intelligence  and  of  school 
attainment  are  very  inaccurate,  or  that  other  mental  char- 
acteristics besides  intelligence  are  important  factors  in 
determining  the  success  or  failure  of  students  in  school. 

Data  gathered  recently  in  our  own  laboratory l  show  that 
we  have  no  right  to  expect  a  student  to  do  a  very  superior 
type  of  school  or  college  work  merely  because  he  possesses 
a  high  degree  of  native  mental  endowment.  He  must 
possess  additional  characteristics,  such  as  persistence,  a 
proper  attitude  towards  his  teacher  and  the  school,  endur- 
ance, health,  and  the  like,  to  be  successful  with  his  school 
work.  All  the  factors  which  contribute  to  a  pupil's  suc- 
cess or  failure  in  school  are  not  known.  When  determined, 

1  S.  L.  Pressey,  "  An  Attempt  to  Measure  the  Comparative  Importance 
of  Intelligence  and  of  Certain  Characteristic  Traits  in  Contributing  to 
Success  in  School,"  School  Review,  September,  1920. 


INTELLIGENCE  AND   SCHOOL   GRADES         95 

they  will  probably  show  that  general  intelligence  is  insuffi- 
cient to  guarantee  an  individual's  school  success. 

Because  of  the  importance  of  this  problem  and  the  rather 
widespread  notion  that  students  who  have  superior  native 
mental  endowment  should  by  virtue  of  this  fact  stand  high 
in  all  their  school  work,  we  desired  to  ascertain  in  this  study 
the  relation  which  actually  existed  between  the  intelli- 
gence of  the  seniors  we  tested  and  their  academic  achieve- 
ment. 

Following  the  comparative  method  of  studying  various 
groups  of  high  school  seniors  used  throughout  this  investi- 
gation, we  undertook  (1)  to  determine  the  general  level 
of  intelligence  of  the  seniors  who  had  made  an  excel- 
lent, average,  and  poor  scholastic  record  in  high  school; 

(2)  to  determine  the  range  of  intelligence  possessed  by 
these  various  scholastic  groups  and  to  ascertain  whether 
the  brighter  students  made  the  best  scholastic  records 
and  the  duller  students  the  poorest  school  grades,  etc.; 

(3)  to  determine  the  various  grades  of  intelligence  pos- 
sessed by  these  various  scholastic  groups  and  their  rela- 
tive frequency  within  each  group;  and  (4)  to  ascertain 
the  actual  coefficient  of  correlation  between  the  intelli- 
gence scores  made  by  all  high  school   seniors  and   the 
average  scholastic  grades  obtained  in  all  high  school  sub- 
jects studied  during  the  junior  year. 

The  data  for  these  inquiries  came  from  the  reports  of 
teachers  and  principals  covering  the  average  scholarship 
grades  obtained  by  each  senior  in  all  high  school  subjects 
studied  during  his  junior  year.  The  junior  year  was 
selected  because  it  was  thought  to  be  fairly  representative 


96    INTELLIGENCE   OF   HIGH   SCHOOL   SENIORS 


of  the  student's  scholastic  record  in  high  school.  His 
average  grade  in  all  subjects  studied  was  taken  because  it 
was  regarded  as  the  most  expressive  single  measure  of  each 
student's  school  success. 

In  order  to  divide  our  total  group  into  subgroups  repre- 
senting various  grades  of  academic  achievement  we 
grouped  them  as  follows:  (1)  "excellent"  with  academic 
averages  ranging  from  95  to  100  per  cent;  (2)  "  high  or  very 
good"  making  grades  from  90  to  94  per  cent;  (3)  "good" 
from  85  to  89  per  cent;  (4)  "medium"  from  80  to  84  per 
-  cent;  (5)  "fair"  from  75  to  79  per  cent;  (6)  "poor"  from 
60  to  74  per  cent.  In  all  our  computations  the  two  middle 
groups,  rated  "good"  and  "medium"  will  be  considered  as 
the  average  scholastic  group. 

1.  General  level  of  intelligence  of  the  seniors  making 
excellent  average  and  poor  scholastic  records  in  high 
school.  The  general  level  of  intelligence  of  those  making 
different  scholastic  records  in  high  school  is  indicated  by 
the  per  cent  of  seniors  belonging  to  each  scholastic  group 
who  made  scores  on  the  intelligence  tests  above  the  median 
for  our  standard  or  total  group.  These  results  are  shown 

in  Table  XII  below. 

TABLE  XII 

PER  CENT  BELONGING  TO  DIFFERENT  SCHOLASTIC  GROUPS  MAK- 
ING INTELLIGENCE  SCORES  ABOVE  THE  STATE  MEDIAN 


RECORD  FOB 

EXCEL- 
LENT, 
95-100 

HIGH, 
90-94 

GOOD, 
85-89 

MED- 
IUM, 
80-84 

FAIR, 
75-79 

POOR, 
60-74 

CASES 

75 

67 

54 

47 

40 

22 

2306 

Girls    

73 

58 

45 

39 

28 

23 

3442 

INTELLIGENCE   AND   SCHOOL   GRADES 


97 


A  better  indication  of  the  general  level  of  intelligence  of 
the  seniors  making  these  various  scholastic  ratings  is 
shown  in  Figure  24.  The  horizontal  bars  show  the  intelli- 
gence scores  made  by  the  middle  50  per  cent  of  seniors 
rated  excellent,  high,  good,  medium,  fair,  and  poor  in 


TEST  SCORE 
80       90        100 


110        120       130       140       150       160       170       180 


PERCENTILES  5 


10  15 

EXCELLENT 

HIGH 


75 


9Q    96 


P'          E-       '    E          D         C-     C      C+       B    •    A    '      A* 

INTELLIGENCE  GRADES 

FIGURE  24.  —  Scores  obtained  by  middle  50  per  cent  of  boys  and  girls 
making  a  scholastic  record  of  excellent,  good,  or  poor  on  their 
high  school  work.  Horizontal  bars  indicate  record  made  by  each 
scholastic  group.  Vertical  cross-bars  show  median  score  for  each 
group. 

academic  achievement.  The  vertical  cross-bars  indicate 
the  median  intelligence  score  for  each  group.  The  record 
for  each  scholastic  group  may  be  readily  compared  with  the 
state  standard  or  any  other  scholastic  group. 


98     INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH  SCHOOL  SENIORS 


As  may  easily  be  seen,  there  is  a  regular  and  rapid  decline 
in  intelligence  as  we  pass  from  the  "excellent"  group  to 
the  "poorest,"  showing  that  the  grade  of  intelligence 
possessed  by  an  individual  is  an  important  factor  in  deter- 
mining his  school  success. 
Percent 


45- 


30- 


RATED 

AorB 


15- 


0 

SCHOLARSHIP 
RANK 

O 


I 


i 


EXCELLENT 
95-100% 


HIGH 

90-94 


GOOD 

85-89 


POOR 

60-74 


15- 
RATED 
0,E  orF 


45- 


BOYS 
GIRLS 


60  J 

FIGURE  25.  —  Percentage  of  seniors  making  various  scholastic  records 
in  high  school,  who  possess  the  highest  (A  or  B)  and  the  lowest 
grades  of  intelligence  found  among  high  school  seniors. 


INTELLIGENCE   AND   SCHOOL  GRADES         99 

2.  Range  in  intelligence  shown  by  the  seniors  rated 
excellent,  average,  and  poor  in  their  high  school  work. 
If  we  ask  which  of  these  scholastic  groups  contains  the 
largest  percentage  of  seniors  possessing  the  highest  and 
lowest  grades  of  intelligence,  we  find  that  the  groups  mak- 
ing the  highest  scholastic  rating  also  contain  the  largest 
percentage  of  seniors  making  the  best  scores  on  our  intelli- 
gence tests.  Figure  25  shows  the  percentage  of  those 
belonging  to  each  scholastic  group  who  made  an  A  or  B 
rating  on  our  intelligence  tests;  also  the  proportion  belong- 
ing to  each  group  possessing  the  lowest  grades  of  intelli- 
gence (D,  E,  or  F)  found  among  high  school  seniors.  It 
will  be  seen  that  the  group  rated  "excellent,"  i.e.  those 
making  scholastic  grades  ranging  from  95  to  100,  contains 
the  largest  percentage  of  students  possessing  an  A  or  B 
grade  of  intelligence;  that  the  group  rated  "poor"  con- 
tains the  smallest  percentage  of  individuals  possessing  these 
higher  intelligence  grades;  and  that  there  is  a  regular  and 
rapid  decline  in  the  percentage  of  individuals  belonging  to 
these  several  scholastic  groups  as  we  pass  from  the  group 
making  the  highest  scholastic  record  to  the  group  making 
the  poorest  record  in  their  high  school  work. 

If  we  inquire  further  which  scholastic  groups  contain 
the  brightest  and  dullest  seniors,  we  obtain  a  similar  result. 
The  brightest  students,  if  taken  as  a  group,  are  found 
among  those  ranking  "excellent"  and  "high"  in  then* 
school  work.  The  dullest  seniors  are  found  among  those 
receiving  the  poorest  grades  on  then'  school  work.  This 
is  clearly  shown  by  Table  XIII. 

A  careful  study  of  the  distribution  tables  for  these  vari- 


100     INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH  SCHOOL  SENIORS 


INTELLIGENCE 
GRADE 

SCHOLASTIC  RATINGS 

Excellent 

High 

Good 

Medium 

Fair 

Poor 

A+  an< 
E  and 

A+and 
E  and 

1A    .... 
F   

Boys 

33.42 
3.60 

13.46 
8.23 

8.54 
9.18 

6.26 

17.87 

2.06 
21.77 

.00 
31.58 

A  

Girls 

22.45 
3.68 

8.29 

8.42 

5.42 
13.92 

3.12 
24.40 

2.38 
23.43 

1.96 
25.49 

F    

ous  scholastic  groups  reveals  the  fact  that  the  seniors  mak- 
ing the  highest  intelligence  scores  (the  highest  half  of 
1  per  cent  of  our  total  group)  are  not  rated  "excellent" 
on  their  school  work.  They  are  regularly  rated  as 
"high"  or  "good"  except  in  the  case  of  the  boys,  who  are 
rated  "medium"  or  "fair"  as  often  as  "high"  or  "good." 
These  tables  also  reveal  the  fact  that  many  seniors  who  are 
rated  "excellent"  and  "high"  in  their  school  work  drop 
rather  low  in  intelligence  scores,  but  never  so  low  as  those 
rated  "  medium,"  "  fair,"  and  "  poor  "  in  their  school 
work.  We  must,  therefore,  conclude  that  other  factors 
besides  intelligence  play  an  important  role  in  determining 
school  success. 

3.  Frequency  of  different  grades  of  intelligence  among 
the  individuals  belonging  to  each  scholastic  group. 
A  question  of  special  interest  is  the  way  in  which  the 


INTELLIGENCE   AND   SCHOOL   GRADES       101 


different  grades  of  intelligence  possessed  by  high  school 
seniors  are  distributed  among  the  kidffcviduals  bejjonging  to 
each  scholastic  gro:::>.  Frequency  tables  were  prepared 
for  each  scholastic  group,  shoivinjr  the  percentage  of  in- 
dividuals belonging  to  each  mtehT^ice  rank.  Frequency 
curves  were  then  drawn  for  each  gro(^_ showing  the  per 
cent  belonging  to  the  several  scholasti<^gTOups  who  pos- 
sessed each  grade  of  intelligence  from  A+  to  F.  Lack  of 
Percent 
30s 


15 
20  H 
15 
10- 
5 


1  EXCELLENT 
1POOR 

BOYS 
GIRLS 


A+       A 


B 


C+ 


C- 


E- 


1NTELLIGENCE  GRADES 

FIGURE  26.  —  Frequency  curves  showing  the  percentage  of  boys  and 
girls  making  an  excellent  and  a  poor  scholastic  record  in  high  school, 
who  possess  each  grade  of  intelligence  (A+  to  F) . 

space  prevents  us  from  presenting  all  these  tables  and 
curves.  But  the  marked  difference  in  the  grades  of  intelli- 
gence possessed  by  the  seniors  making  an  "excellent" 
and  "poor"  rating  in  their  high  school  work  is  shown  in 
Figure  26. 


102    INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

As  may  readily  be  seen,  the  curves  for  both  the  boys  and 
girls  making  the  highest  scholastic  records  pass  far  above 
the  curves  for  those  making  the  poorest  scholastic  rating, 
at  all  points  indicating  the  highest  grades  of  intelligence 
possessed  by  high  school  seniors,  and  pass  just  about  as 
far  below  these  curves  at  all  points  indicating  the  lowest 
grades  of  intelligence.  It  will  also  be  seen  that  the  curves 
for  the  seniors  rated  "excellent"  in  their  high  school  work 
culminate  at  the  points  indicating  a  B  and  C+  grade  of 
intelligence.  That  is  to  say,  a  greater  percentage  of  indi- 
viduals belonging  to  this  scholastic  group  possess  a  B  and 
C+  grade  of  intelligence  than  possess  any  other  intelli- 
gence grade.  The  highest  point  in  the  curves  for  the 
seniors  belonging  to  the  group  making  the  "poorest" 
scholastic  rating  on  their  high  school  work  is  found  at  the 
points  indicating  a  C~  and  D  grade  of  intelligence.  The 
curve  for  the  seniors  making  an  average  or  "good"  grade 
in  their  high  school  work  would  pass,  if  drawn,  about  mid- 
way between  the  curves  for  the  best  and  poorest  scholastic 
groups.  The  position  ofj  the  curves  for  this  average  scho- 
lastic group  is  shown  by  the  dots  in  the  figure,  which  indi- 
cate the  direction  taken  by  the  curve  for  this  average  group. 

The  frequency  curves  for  the  other  scholastic  groups 
show  that  the  largest  percentage  of  the  boys  belonging  to 
the  scholastic  group  rated  "high"  fell  at  the  C+  level, 
for  the  group  rated  "good"  at  the  C  level,  and  for  the 
groups  rated  "medium  "  and  "  fair  "  at  the  C~  level.  For 
the  girls  these  high  points  in  the  frequency  curves  fell  at 
B  and  C+  for  "excellent  "  and  "  high,"  at  the  O  level  for 
the  "good"  and  "medium"  scholastic  groups,  and  at 


INTELLIGENCE  AND   SCHOOL  GRADES       103 

the    C~  and  D   level  for   the  group  rated  "fair  "and 
"  poor." 

4.  Correlation  between  the  intelligence  of  high  school 
seniors  and  their  scholastic  success.  If  the  correlation 
between  the  intelligence  of  high  school  seniors  and 
their  success  in  school  were  perfect,  the  facts  revealed 
in  the  preceding  chapter  would  have  to  be  interpreted 
as  a  total  failure  on  the  part  of  the  teachers  and  school 
officials  to  adapt  their  instruction  and  work  to  the 
interests  and  mental  strength  of  their  students,  unless 
it  could  be  shown  that  our  methods  for  measuring  general 
intelligence  and  evaluating  school  success  were  unreliable 
to  a  marked  degree.1  If,  on  the  other  hand,  these  methods 
of  measurement  are  reasonably  reliable  and  adequate  for 
making  such  a  study  of  the  relation  between  intelligence 
and  school  success  as  is  here  proposed,  and  if  it  were  shown 
that  the  correlation  between  general  intelligence  and  school 
success  is  rather  low,  it  would  tend  to  show  that  other  fac- 
tors besides  native  mental  endowment  play  an  important 
role  in  attaining  school  success.  That  there  is  a  close  re- 
lationship between  general  intelligence  and  school  achieve- 
ment is  shown  by  the  facts  presented  above.  In  order 
to  measure  more  accurately  the  interdependence  between 
these  two  factors,  the  coefficient  of  correlation  was  com- 
puted between  the  scores  made  in  the  mental  tests  and  the 
academic  grades  of  seniors.  This  was  found  to  be  .282, 

1  That  our  methods  for  measuring  school  achievement  and  general  in- 
telligence are  not  perfect  is  a  well-known  fact,  but  they  are  sufficiently 
accurate  to  give  a  reliable  result  for  such  comparative  studies  as  we  are 
making.  We  may,  therefore,  accept  the  degree  of  correlation  or  lack  of 
correlation  as  an  indication  of  a  similarity  or  divergence  of  the  functions 
involved. 


104    INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

P.  E.  .05,  for  the  boys,  and  .277,  P.  E.  .04,  for  the  girls 
(Pearson's  formula). 

More  accurate  computations  than  the  above  were  made 
from  our  data  by  Mr.  Emmett  A.  Rice  in  his  unpublished 
study  of  "The  Correlation  between  Scholastic  Success 
and  Scores  Made  on  Intelligence  Tests,"  submitted  in 
partial  fulfillment  of  the  requirements  for  the  degree  of 
Master  of  Arts  at  Indiana  University,  June,  1920. l  Mr. 
Rice  selected  at  random  124  of  the  276  seniors  from  the 
Shortridge,  Indianapolis,  high  school,  who  took  our  intelli- 
gence tests  and  computed  the  correlation  between  the 
scores  made  on  the  intelligence  tests  and  the  record  made 
in  all  high  school  subjects  studied  by  these  seniors  during 
their  four  years'  high  school  course.  Special  care  was  exer- 
cised to  determine  that  the  scholastic  success  attained  in 
the  various  high  school  subjects  studied  would  really  indi- 
cate similar  grades  of  school  achievement.  All  members 
of  the  group  took  English,  mathematics,  and  a  science, 
and  Mr.  Rice  showed  by  working  out  separate  correlations 
between  the  various  science  subjects,  and  between  all 
foreign  language  subjects  studied  by  this  group,  that  the 
various  science  subjects  presented  about  the  same  degree 
of  difficulty.  The  same  was  found  for  the  foreign  lan- 
guage subjects.  Mr.  Rice  then  computed  the  correlation 
between  the  average  of  the  marks  obtained  in  each  high 
school  subject  and  the  intelligence  score;  also  between  the 
average  marks  obtained  in  all  science  subjects  and  the 

1  We  desire  to  express  our  indebtedness  and  appreciation  to  Mr.  Rice  for 
the  use  of  a  part  of  his  unpublished  results.  For  complete  study  see 
master's  thesis,  "The  Correlation  between  Scholastic  Success  and  Scores 
Made  on  Intelligence  Tests,"  Indiana  University  Library,  June.  1920. 


INTELLIGENCE   AND   SCHOOL  GRADES       105 


intelligence  scores;  and  finally  between  all  foreign  language 
subjects  and  the  intelligence  scores.  He  then  worked  out 
the  correlation  between  the  intelligence  scores  and  the 
average  of  the  average  of  all  scholastic  grades  which  each 
student  obtained  during  his  four-year  high  school  course. 
As  might  be  expected,  the  correlation  coefficients  ob- 
tained by  this  more  exact  method  of  computation,  which 
took  in  the  student's  entire  high  school  record,  were  higher 
than  those  we  obtained  by  our  method.  As  shown  in 
Table  XIV,  the  coefficient  of  correlation  for  the  average 
of  all  scholastic  grades  is  .47,  P.  E.  .05;  those  for  the 
various  studies  taken  separately  range  from  .25,  P.  E.  .06, 
to  .52,  P.  E.  .06  (Pearson's  formula). 

TABLE  XIV 

COEFFICIENTS  OF  CORRELATION  BETWEEN  INTELLIGENCE  SCORES 

AND  THE  AVERAGE  SCHOLASTIC  MARKS  OBTAINED  IN 

VARIOUS  SUBJECTS 


HIGH 
SCHOOL 
SUBJECTS 

ENG. 

MATH. 

HIST. 

TOTAL 

SCIENCE 
GROUP 

ALL 
FOREIGN 
LAN- 
GUAGES 

AVERAGE 
SCHO- 
LASTIC 
SUCCESS 

CHEM- 
ISTRY 

LATIN 

Intelligence 

coefficient. 

.44 

.37 

.25 

.44 

.31 

.47 

.52 

.26 

P.  E. 

.05 

.05 

.06 

.05 

.05 

.05 

.06 

.06 

This,  like  our  own  figures,  is  a  positive  though  rather 
low  correlation,  but  compares  favorably  with  the  results 
obtained  by  other  investigators  *  who  have  made  investiga- 
tions somewhat  similar  to  our  own.  Binet  found  a  coeffi- 
cient of  correlation  between  pedagogical  advance  and 

1Pintner,  Rudolph, "Mental  Survey,"  D.Appleton&Co.,  1918,  pp.  64-78. 


106    INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

mental  advance  of  .45; l  Bobertag  compared  mental  age 
with  school  marks  and  obtained  a  coefficient  between  poor 
marks  and  mental  retardation  of  .52,  and  between  good 
marks  and  mental  development  of  .59;  Pressey  found  a 
correlation  between  intelligence  score  and  school  marks  of 
.48  ;2  Terman  obtained  a  coefficient  of  correlation 
between  school  marks  and  mental  age  of  .45.3 

It  is  conceivable  that  these  rather  low  correlations  be- 
tween school  achievement  and  intelligence  may  be  due  to 
inaccuracies  in  our  methods  of  measuring  both  intelligence 
and  school  achievement.  The  scholastic  standing  of  our 
senior  group  was  obtained  by  averaging  the  marks  made 
on  all  high  school  subjects  studied  during  the  junior  year. 
This  included  in  many  individual  cases  such  subjects  as 
music  and  art,  which,  according  to  Mr.  Rice's  results, 
showed  almost  no  positive  correlation  with  intelligence 
score.  For  the  various  academic  studies,  the  coefficient 
of  correlation  ranged  from  .25  for  history  to  .52  for  chem- 
istry, covering  the  entire  four-year  period. 

Another  factor  which  may  have  tended  to  diminish 
our  coefficient  of  correlation  is  the  fact  that  our  tests  were 
given  in  so  many  schools  (320)  and  that  the  mental  exam- 
ination was  given  by  as  many  different  teachers.  This 
would  tend  to  make  our  intelligence  scores  less  reliable. 
Moreover,  the  school  marks  given  to  our  various  senior 
classes  doubtless  represent  a  wide  variation  in  standards 

1  Stern,  William,  "The  Psychological  Method  of  Testing  Intelligence," 
p.  60. 

2  Pressey,  S.  L.,  "  The  Efficiency  of  the  Group  Point  Scale  in  Prognosti- 
cating Success  and  Failure  in  Junior  High  School,"  Journal  of  Applied 
Psychology,  Vol.  Ill,  1919,  pp.  381-385. 

*  Terman,  L.  M.,  "The  Intelligence  of  School  Children,"  Houghton 
Mifflin  Co.,  1919,  p.  79. 


INTELLIGENCE   AND   SCHOOL  GRADES       107 

and  reliability,  being  given  by  so  many  different  teachers. 
It  would,  therefore,  seem  that  the  factor  of  intelligence 
might  well  be  thought  to  play  a  somewhat  larger  role  in 
conditioning  school  success  than  is  indicated  by  our  coeffi- 
cient of  correlation,  a  fact  which  must  be  taken  into 
consideration  in  evaluating  the  other  factors  which  con- 
dition school  success.  That  this  is  the  case  is  shown  by 
the  results  which  Mr.  Rice  obtained  with  his  more  accurate 
method  of  determining  this  correlation.  But  the  fact 
that  his  total  correlation  was  only  .47  for  a  single  large 
school  and  for  the  entire  high  school  period,  and  that  other 
correlations  obtained  between  intelligence  scores  and  aca- 
demic success  hover  pretty  closely  about  this  point,  seems 
to  indicate  the  importance  for  school  success  of  other  fac- 
tors besides  mere  intelligence.  In  the  few  investigations 
where  a  higher  correlation  has  been  obtained  the  intelli- 
gence scale  used  may  contain  tests  which  measured  persist- 
ence, mental  attitude,  or  interest,  etc.,  in  addition  to  mere 
ability  to  learn.  Whatever  the  cause,  the  rather  low  cor- 
relation which  we  obtained,  taken  together  with  the  facts 
revealed  in  the  preceding  chapter,  must  be  taken  into  ac- 
count by  all  who  are  trying  to  obtain  from  pupils  in  the 
public  school  or  from  college  students  academic  accom- 
plishment commensurate  with  their  intellectual  ability. 
That  school  success  is  vitally  conditioned  by  native  men- 
tal endowment  is  shown  by  the  uniformly  positive  correla- 
tions obtained  between  intelligence  score  and  school  suc- 
cess. That  this  correlation  is  relatively  low  indicates 
without  doubt  that  other  factors  besides  intelligence  enter 
into  the  making  of  a  highly  successful  record  in  school. 


6.  Why  an  intelligence  score  is  not  a  reliable  criterion 
of  school  success.  The  evidence  seems  to  indicate  that 
we  are  not  in  reality  measuring  the  same  thing  when  we 
test  for  intelligence  and  school  success.  In  the  former 
case  we  endeavor  to  measure  native  mental  endowment, 
the  ability  to  learn,  or  the  ability  to  adapt  oneself  to  new 
situations  and  problems.  In  the  latter  we  measure  actual 
performance :  what  the  student  has  done  or  is  doing.  The 
results  of  intelligence  tests  indicate  what  he  can  do  or 
is  capable  of  doing.  School  marks,  on  the  other  hand, 
indicate  primarily  what  he  has  done  or  is  doing;  they 
indicate  for  the  most  part  specific  or  actual  performance  ; 
only  in  a  secondary  sense  do  school  marks  tell  us  anything 
about  a  student's  ability  to  perform.  There  may,  there- 
fore, [be  a  rather  wide  discrepancy  between  the  two  in 
particular  cases. 

It  is  further  conceivable  that  a  number  of  special  mental 
factors  may  serve  to  enhance  a  student's  school  perform- 
ance, factors  which  are  quite  different  from  general  intelli- 
gence. One  such  factor  is  a  good  memory.  This  may  be 
of  far-reaching  value  to  a  pupil  in  attaining  school  success, 
because  most  of  our  school  work  to-day  draws  heavily 
upon  a  student's  sheer  ability  to  retain  and  recall.  Other 
mental  characteristics  not  measured  by  an  intelligence 
test,  such  as  persistence,  effort,  mental  attitude  toward 
school,  etc.,  might  also  be  possessed  by  a  student  with 
/  only  average  ability,  and  may  be  deficient  or  totally  lack- 
ing in  another  student  who  has  marked  intelligence.  The 
former  would  attain  a  high  degree  of  success  in  school,  while 
the  latter  might  even  fail.  Other  factors  not  mental  in 


INTELLIGENCE   AND   SCHOOL   GRADES       109 

character  may  also  help  to  account  for  the  low  correlation. 
Most  high  schools  permit  students  to  elect  a  large  part  of 
their  high  school  work.  Some  students  may,  therefore, 
select  subjects  in  which  they  are  specially  interested  and 
which  are  therefore  easy  for  them.  This  would  tend  to 
raise  their  scholastic  grade  beyond  what  their  native  mental 
ability  would  lead  us  to  expect.  A  pupil  of  only  average 
or  even  mediocre  ability  may  also  attain  marked  success 
in  school  if  he  works  hard  and  long,  while  a  pupil  with  far 
superior  mental  ability  may  fail  simply  because  the  latter 
does  not  put  forth  sufficient  effort  to  succeed. 

6.  General  summary  and  discussion  of  results.  Sum- 
marizing briefly  the  facts  revealed  by  the  above  compari- 
sons we  may  say : 

1.  There  is  a  positive  correlation  between  the  intelli- 
gence score  and  success  in  school,  indicating  that  general 
intelligence  or  ability  to  learn  is  an  essential  factor  in 
determining  school  success.     Those  seniors  who  made  the 
best  mental  rating  on  the  intelligence  tests,  if  taken  as  a 
group,  made  the  best  scholastic  record  in  high  school. 
Those  making  the  poorest  intelligence  rating  on  the  mental 
tests  made  the  poorest  scholastic  rating.     The  brightest 
students,  considered  as  a  group,  fall  among  those  making 
a  school  record  of  "excellent"  or  "very  good."    The  dull- 
est fall  among  those  rated  "poor"  in  their  scholastic  work. 

2.  The  amount  of   interdependence  which   exists  be- 
tween these  functions  is  indicated  by  the  size  of  the  coeffi- 
cient of  correlation  between  intelligence  score  and  scholastic 
success  or  average  mark  earned  in  the  various  school  sub- 
jects studied.     This  ranged  for  the  different  high  school 


110    INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL   SENIORS 

subjects  from  .25  to  .52 ;  for  all  subjects  studied  during 
the  junior  year  from  .282  for  the  boys  to  .277  for  the  girls. 
For  all  subjects  studied  during  the  entire  high  school  course 
by  a  representative  group  of  124  high  school  seniors,  it  was 
.47,  P.  E.  .05. 

3.  If  taken  for  individual  cases,  intelligence  scores  are 
poor  criteria  for  predicting  the  kind  and  amount  of  school 
success  that  will  be  attained.    This  fact  of  variability 
in  individual  cases  might  of  course  be  due  to  inaccuracies 
in  our  measurement  of  both  functions  or  to  accidental 
factors  affecting  the  test  score.     It  more  probably  indi- 
cates, when  taken  together  with  the  fact  that  the  correla- 
tion between  intelligence  scores  and  scholastic  success  is 
not  very  high,  that  other  factors  besides  intelligence  play 
an  important  role  in  attaining  school  success;    that  we 
are  not,  in  reality,  measuring  the  same  functions;    that 
mere  ability  to  learn  and  do  are  not  synonymous  with 
actual  performance ;  that  because  a  pupil  has  the  ability 
to  learn  or  do  his  school  work,  it  by  no  means  follows  that 
he  will  do  it ;  or  that  because  he  has  the  ability  or  capacity 
he  can  and  will  properly  apply  it,  when  confronted  by  his 
tasks  in  school  or  life.     A  mere  intelligence  test  is  evi- 
dently no  criterion  for  what  a  pupil  will  do  in  school. 
To  what  extent  and  in  what  ways  it  may  be  used  to  prog- 
nosticate success  in  school  or  life  needs  to  be  more  carefully 
determined  than  has  been  done  heretofore. 

4.  The  results  of  this  chapter  throw  considerable  light 
on  the  maladjustments  revealed  in  the  preceding  chapter. 
The  fact  that  many  seniors  who  gave  unmistakable  evi- 
dence that  they  possess  superior  mental  ability  (no  stu- 


INTELLIGENCE   AND   SCHOOL   GRADES       111 

dent  could  legitimately  make  a  high  score  on  the  intelligence 
tests  unless  he  really  had  the  mental  ability  to  do  so)  but 
who  nevertheless  fail  to  make  school  progress  commensu- 
rate with  that  ability,  and  the  additional  fact  that  some 
seniors  apparently  make  a  marked  success  in  their  school 
work,  who,  nevertheless,  give  evidence  of  possessing  only 
average  or  inferior  grades  of  intelligence  —  these  facts 
may,  in  the  light  of  the  data  at  hand,  be  interpreted  in  a 
number  of  ways.  (1)  The  latter  group  of  seniors  may 
possess  certain  mental  characteristics  essential  for  school 
success  other  than  mere  ability  to  learn  or  do,  such  as  a 
good  memory,  determination,  a  proper  mental  attitude 
towards  their  teacher  and  the  school  work,  which  the  for- 
mer lacks.  (2)  Such  a  situation  may  also  indicate  an 
actual  mistake  on  the  part  of  the  teacher  and  the  school. 
The  work  may  be  for  many  reasons  ill  adapted  to  the 
pupil's  interests  and  mental  strength.  In  such  cases  the 
failure  to  succeed  should  be  charged  to  the  school. 
(3)  Some  students  making  low  scores  on  the  mental  tests 
may  not  have  done  themselves  justice  for  a  number  of  rea- 
sons, and  may,  therefore,  be  as  bright  or  even  more  capable 
than  the  students  who  gave  evidence  of  superior  mental 
ability.  But  this  would  not  account  for  the  failure  of  the 
students  who  gave  unmistakable  signs  of  superior  mental 
ability,  and  who  were  rated  as  failures  or  part  failures  in 
their  school  work.  Such  cases,  it  would  seem,  must  be 
charged  to  the  inefficiency  of  the  schools. 

We  need  to  make  a  more  careful  and  systematic  study 
of  the  causes  of  school  success  and  failure  than  has  ever 
been  made.  We  cannot  safely  assume  that  because  a 


112   INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

pupil  has  superior  native  mental  endowment  he  will  be 
able  and  willing  to  use  it  when  confronted  by  his  school 
tasks.  Other  factors,  besides  native  mental  capacity, 
are  doubtless  essential  for  success  in  school  and  life.  We 
need  to  determine  what  these  factors  or  mental  character- 
istics are.  We  ought  to  know  why  we  do  not  get  a  higher 
positive  correlation  between  intelligence  scores  and  school 
success  than  we  do ;  why  there  are  such  marked  individual 
exceptions  to  the  general  rule ;  why  one  student  with  su- 
perior native  mental  endowment  does  not  succeed  in  high 
school  or  college  while  another  with  lower  intelligence 
does;  why  so  many  boys  with  superior  intelligence  are 
making  poor  or  mediocre  records  in  high  school  while 
girls  with  inferior  grades  of  native  mental  endowment 
are  surpassing  them  in  their  school  work. 

It  is  evident  from  these  and  other  facts  revealed  in  this 
and  the  preceding  chapter  that  other  factors  besides 
ability  to  do  and  learn  should  be  taken  into  account  when 
students  are  recommended  for  a  university  fellowship 
or  are  accelerated  in  school.  These  factors  should  be 
determined  by  careful  and  systematic  investigation.  A 
systematic  and  careful  study  of  the  causes  of  school  success 
and  failure  must  be  made  before  the  maladjustments 
revealed  in  this  and  the  preceding  chapter  can  be  properly 
remedied. 


CHAPTER  VII 

INTELLIGENCE  OF  SENIORS  SELECTING  DIFFERENT 
OCCUPATIONAL  CAREERS 

WHEN  we  ask  what  the  school  is  able  to  accomplish,  or 
what  the  aim  of  education  really  is,  we  get  a  variety  of 
answers,  which  depend  upon  the  wisdom  of  our  informants 
and  their  philosophy  of  life.  Many  different  opinions 
have  been  expressed  upon  this  subject,  but  it  may  truly 
be  said  that  in  our  educational  theory  and  practice  to-day 
we  stand,  as  it  were,  upon  the  shoulders  of  the  past.  That 
is  to  say,  we  embody  the  best  that  the  thought  and  experi- 
ence of  the  race  has  preserved  for  our  guidance.  At  differ- 
ent periods  of  man's  experience  with  the  problem  of  educa- 
tion different  purposes  have  been  emphasized  as  guides 
to  educational  practice.  For  the  ancient  Hebrews  the 
chief  aim  of  education  was  to  inculcate  goodness,  to  de- 
velop men  and  women  whose  every  act  would  be  pleasing 
in  the  sight  of  Jehovah.  The  Greeks  were  inspired  by 
the  idea  of  a  complete,  harmonious,  and  perfect  develop- 
ment of  the  individual;  and  they  bent  all  energy  towards 
the  realization  of  this  ideal.  The  Romans  emphasized 
efficiency.  For  them  the  purpose  of  education  was  to 
make  perfect  Roman  citizens,  capable  of  bearing  the  bur- 
dens of  citizenship  in  the  Roman  state.  The  early  Chris- 
tians emphasized  the  idea  of  discipline.  For  them  educa- 
tion became  a  mere  means  for  developing  Christian  men 
and  women,  for  disciplining  human  nature  and  desires, 

113 


114    INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

in  preparation  for  a  better  and  future  life.  This  in  time 
broke  away  completely  from  the  ideal  of  human  perfection 
developed  by  the  Greeks.  Later,  with  the  development 
of  science  and  our  better  understanding  of  human  nature, 
new  ideals  and  purposes  were  emphasized  and  these  older 
aims  were  seen  with  new  and  extended  vision.  The  idea 
of  training  and  discipline  presents  a  curious  path  of  devel- 
opment. The  humanistic  ideal  of  human  perfection, 
originated  by  the  Greeks,  has  been  greatly  extended  and 
refined.  The  conception  that  education  is  chiefly  a  pro- 
cess of  acquisition  which  must  introduce  each  child  into 
the  achievements  of  the  race;  that  it  is  a  process  of  form- 
ing right  habits  of  thought  and  action;  a  process  of  form- 
ing permanent  interests  in  the  truth  and  in  the  things  which 
are  beautiful  and  good ;  a  process  whereby  we  may  secure 
a  better  adaptation  to  our  environment;  an  efficient  prepa- 
ration for  social  service,  etc.  —  these  ideals  have  all  been 
added  to  the  list  of  purposes  held  and  emphasized  by  educa- 
tional leaders. 

Our  ideas  to-day  in  regard  to  what  the  school  should 
strive  to  accomplish  are  derived  from  the  experiences  of 
the  race  with  the  problem  and  from  our  present  under- 
standing of  the  meaning  and  purpose  of  human  life. 
While  all  are  by  no  means  agreed  with  regard  to  details, 
or  the  means  which  should  be  employed  to  obtain  the  de- 
sired results,  all  would  agree  that  education  should  some- 
how aid  in  securing  healthy,  normal,  and  perfect  develop- 
ment of  the  individual,  including  the  conservation  and 
development  of  all  his  capacities  and  powers;  that  the  dis- 
cipline or  training  of  certain  mental  abilities  is  important; 


INTELLIGENCE   AND  VOCATIONAL  CHOICE     115 

that  the  acquisition  of  knowledge,  proper  interests,  and 
right  habits  of  conduct  and  thought  is  essential;  and  that 
right  adjustment  is  needed,  all  to  the  end  that  each  indi- 
vidual may  be  so  educated  or  trained  that  he  will  be  able 
to  do  his  full  share  of  the  world's  work  and  be  willing  to 
serve  his  day  and  generation  in  direct  proportion  to  his 
talents  and  capacities,  which  he  has  been  taught  to  con- 
serve and  use  in  such  service  to  the  world. 

In  order  to  determine  to  what  extent  the  schools  of  the 
state  were  practically  embodying  this  essential  feature  of 
our  present  aim  of  education,  we  asked  each  senior  taking 
the  tests  to  state  whether  or  not  he  had  selected  his  life 
occupation,  and  if  so,  to  give  the  name  of  the  vocation 
chosen,  to  give  the  name  of  the  study  in  high  school  which 
he  most  enjoyed,  the  course  which  he  had  pursued  in 
high  school,  etc.  These  answers,  together  with  the  data 
collected  concerning  his  college  intentions,  would,  it  was 
believed,  throw  important  light  on  the  extent  to  which 
these  young  people  were  being  directed  towards  and  pre- 
pared/or the  type  of  social  service  best  suited  to  their  men- 
tal capacities  and  their  intellectual  and  social  needs.  Data 
bearing  on  various  aspects  of  this  problem  will  be  presented 
in  this  and  the  two  chapters  which  immediately  follow. 

In  collecting  data  on  the  choice  of  an  occupation,  we 
had  in  mind  the  following  specific  problems :  (1)  to  ascer- 
tain to  what  extent  high  school  seniors  in  Indiana  had 
actually  selected  the  occupation  which  they  intended  to 
follow  as  a  life  career;  (2)  to  compare  the  intelligence 
scores  made  by  the  group  of  seniors  who  had  definitely 
chosen  a  life  occupation  with  the  record  made  on  the  tests 


116    INTELLIGENCE   OF   HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

by  those  who  had  not,  in  order  to  determine  whether  more 
of  the  brightest  students  had  selected  a  vocation  in  life 
than  those  possessing  inferior  grades  of  intelligence; 
(3)  to  obtain  an  exact  list  of  the  occupations  chosen  by  high 
school  seniors  and  to  ascertain  which  occupations  were 
being  selected  by  the  largest  number ;  (4)  to  determine  the 
general  level  of  intelligence  of  the  seniors  selecting  different 
occupations,  by  comparing  the  intelligence  scores  of  the  in- 
dividuals belonging  to  each  occupational  group ;  and  (5)  to 
determine,  if  possible,  the  extent  to  which  these  young 
people  had  been  preparing  in  high  school  and  were  definitely 
planning  to  prepare  in  college  for  the  occupations  chosen. 
1.  Intelligence  of  students  who  had  selected  a 
life  occupation  contrasted  and  compared  with  the  in- 
telligence of  the  group  who  had  not.  Our  first  problem 
was  to  ascertain  whether  the  students  who  had  selected 
a  life  occupation  ranked  higher  on  the  intelligence  tests 
than  the  group  who  had  not.  It  might  naturally  be 
supposed  that  the  brightest  students  would  be  think- 
ing more  about  the  choice  of  an  occupation  than  the 
seniors  of  only  average  or  inferior  ability.1  The  data 
were,  therefore,  examined  and  the  results  compiled  with  this 
question  in  mind.  It  was  found  that  a  total  of  64  per  cent 
of  the  boys  and  60  per  cent  of  the  girls  stated  that  they  had 
selected  a  vocation  in  life ; 2  36  per  cent  of  the  boys  and 
40  per  cent  of  the  girls  had  either  not  decided,  or  failed 

irThis  would  be  expected  unless  the  fact  that  those  with  inferior  in- 
telligence who  are  forced  to  drop  out  of  school  or  who  have  been  con- 
templating going  to  work  are  forced  to  decide  and  think  about  making  a 
vocational  choice  more  than  their  classmates. 

2  The  fact  that  approximately  two- thirds  of  our  total  senior  group  had 
chosen  their  vocation  in  life  is  a  rather  unexpected  result.  This  is  par- 


INTELLIGENCE   AND   VOCATIONAL   CHOICE     117 

to  answer  the  question.1  The  scores  made  on  our  intelli- 
gence tests  by  these  two  groups  were  then  studied  with 
a  view  of  determining  (1)  the  general  level  of  intelligence 
of  each  group ;  (2)  the  percentage  of  individuals  belonging 
to  each  group  possessing  the  highest  and  lowest  grades  of 
mental  ability ;  and  (3)  the  relative  frequency  with  which 
each  grade  of  mental  ability  was  found  among  the  members 
of  the  group. 

The  best  indication  of  the  general  level  of  intelligence  of 
these  two  groups  of  seniors  is  the  median  and  25  and  75 
percentile  scores;  in  other  words,  the  record  made  by 
the  middle  50  per  cent  of  the  students  belonging  to  each 
group.  These  figures,  together  with  the  per  cent  belonging 
to  each  group  who  made  scores  above  the  median  for  our 
total  or  standard  group,  are  shown  in  Table  XV. 

ticularly  true  when  we  compare  this  situation  with  the  condition  found 
in  most  liberal  arts  colleges  to-day,  where  most  students  still  seem  to  be 
adrift,  so  far  as  the  choice  of  an  occupation  is  concerned.  At  first  thought 
one  might  be  inclined  to  regard  this  result  with  suspicion  ;  inferring  that 
the  answers  were  not  genuine,  but  hastily  given,  because  it  was  sug- 
gested to  them  that  they  should  have  chosen  a  vocation  in  life.  This 
does  not  seem  to  be  the  case.  In  working  over  all  our  data  on  this  point 
we  became  convinced  somewhat  against  our  will  that  the  choices  made 
were  genuine.  Most  of  these  young  people  were  actually  preparing  or 
definitely  planning  to  prepare  for  the  occupations  chosen.  It  should  also 
be  remembered  that,  taken  as  a  group,  they  are  not  really  comparable 
with  the  average  group  of  college  students.  Many  of  the  high  school 
seniors  who  had  not  selected  a  life  occupation  expected  to  go  to  college. 
Those  whose  school  days  were  practically  over  had  been  thinking  about 
what  they  expected  to  do.  These  facts,  taken  together  with  the  fact  that 
vocational  education  and  vocational  guidance  have  been  specially  empha- 
sized for  a  number  of  years  by  Indiana  high  schools,  many  of  them  having 
regular  vocational  directors,  will  help  to  explain  this  rather  unusual  result. 
1  Only  59  per  cent  of  the  boys  and  56  per  cent  of  the  girls  named  the 
exact  occupation  which  they  expected  to  follow  as  their  life  work.  (See 
Table  XVI.) 


118  INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 


TABLE  XV 

SCORES  MADE  BY  MIDDLE  50  PER  CENT  op  SENIORS  WHO  HAD 
SELECTED  A  LIFE  OCCUPATION 


25 

75 

PER  CENT 

GROUPS  COMPARED 

PER- 

MEDIAN 

PER- 

ABOVE 

CASES 

CENTILE 

CENTILE 

MEDIAN 

Occupations  selected  .  .  . 

124.17 

137.28 

148.70 

50.59 

3538 

Occupations  undecided  .  . 

123.28 

136.31 

148.23 

49.00 

2210 

Another  indication  of  the  general  level  of  intelligence 
possessed  by  each  of  these  groups  is  given  by  the  curves 
in  Figure  27,  showing  the  scores  obtained  by  various  pro- 
portionate groups  of  boys  and  girls  who  had  (1)  selected 
and  (2)  not  selected  their  vocation  in  life.  From  the  data 
given  in  Table  XV  and  the  percentile  curves  shown  in 
Figure  27  it  may  be  seen  that  the  score  made  on  the  tests 
by  the  seniors  who  had  selected  a  vocation  in  life  are 
slightly  higher  than  those  made  by  the  group  which  had 
not.  But  the  difference  is  so  small  that  it  may  have  little 
or  no  significance. 

But  this  result  might  be  obtained  even  if  the  brightest 
students  in  our  total  group  had  selected  their  life  occupa- 
tion. Enough  students  possessing  a  high  average  grade 
of  intelligence  might  be  undecided  to  even  up  the  scores 
of  the  two  groups  when  compared  on  the  basis  of  central 
tendency  alone.  We  were,  therefore,  interested  to  know 
whether  a  larger  percentage  of  individuals  belonging  to  the 
group  who  had  selected  an  occupation  were  rated  A  or  B 
than  were  found  among  the  group  who  had  not.  Figure 
28  compares  the  percentage  of  individuals  belonging  to 


INTELLIGENCE   AND  VOCATIONAL   CHOICE     119 


each  group  rated  A  or  B,  also  the  percentage  belonging  to 
each  group  who  possessed  the  lowest  (D,  E,  or  F)  grades  of 


TEST  SCORE 
ISO- 


170- 
160- 
150- 
140- 
130- 
120- 
110- 
100- 
90- 


80 


I   BOYS 
2.  GIRLS 
—  OCCUPATION  SELECTED 


NO  CHOICE  MADE 


15         10        10  75 
PERCENTILES 


40       5O       60       8O       90  95  99 


FIGURE  27.  —  Curves  showing  scores  obtained  by  various  percentile 
groups  of  boys  and  girls  who  had  and  had  not  selected  their  life 
occupation. 

mental  ability.  A  mere  glance  at  this  figure  will  show  how 
slight  is  the  difference  between  the  two  groups.  There 
are  about  as  many  individuals  rated  A  or  B  in  the  group 


120    INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 


who  had  not  selected  an  occupation  as  in  the  group  that 
had  named  the  vocation  which  they  expected  to  follow 
as  their  life  work. 

If  we  carry  our  analysis  a  step  further,  however,  and 
Percent 


0 

GROUPS  .OCCUPATION    NOT  OCCUPATION   NOT 

COMPARED       CHOSEN   CHOSEN       CHOSEN  CHOSEN 

0 


FIGURE  28.  —  Percentage  of  boys  and  girls  who  had  and  had  not  se- 
lected their  life  occupation,  making  the  highest  (A  or  B)  and  the 
lowest  (D,  E,  or  F)  intelligence  ratings  on  the  mental  tests. 


INTELLIGENCE   AND   VOCATIONAL   CHOICE     121 

compare  the  percentage  of  boys  and  girls  who  earned  a 
mental  rating  of  A+  or  A  on  the  tests,  we  find  a  more  no- 
ticeable difference  in  favor  of  the  group  which  had  selected 
a  vocation  in  life.  Of  the  boys  belonging  to  this  group 
10.47  per  cent  made  a  mental  rating  of  A+  or  A  on  the 
tests,  as  against  7.58  per  cent  for  the  group  who  had  not 
selected  a  vocation.  Among  the  girls  the  difference  is 
less  —  7.21  per  cent  for  the  group  who  had  decided  upon 
a  vocation,  and  6.53  per  cent  for  the  group  who  had  not. 
The  above  results  may  be  interpreted  to  mean  that  little 
thought  is  being  given  by  high  school  seniors  to  the  matter 
of  choosing  their  vocation  in  life.  Those  indicating  a 
definite  choice  rated  only  very  slightly  higher  on  the  men- 
tal tests  than  did  the  group  that  had  made  no  choice. 
The  percentile  curves  run  along  almost  together  for  both 
boys  and  girls.  (See  Figure  27.)  The  percentage  of  boys 
rated  A  or  B  was  only  slightly  higher  for  the  group  that 
had  selected  their  life  occupation,  and  the  percentage  of 
the  total  group  rated  D,  E,  or  F  was  only  slightly  lower  than 
for  the  group  that  had  not.  (Compare  Figure  28.)  But 
there  is  some  evidence  that  the  brightest  boys,  those  rated 
A+  or  A,  are  more  concerned  about  their  future  life  work 
than  those  possessing  the  lower  grades  of  ability.  The 
most  significant  fact  revealed  by  the  comparisons,  how- 
ever, seems  to  be  that  there  is  so  little  difference  between 
these  two  groups.  This  may  be  accounted  for  in  part  by 
the  fact  that  so  many  of  the  brightest  seniors  going  to 
college  had  not  chosen  their  vocation  in  life,  while  practi- 
cally all  of  those  not  planning  to  go  to  college  had  come  to 
a  place  where  some  decision  had  to  be  made. 


122    INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH  SCHOOL  SENIORS 

2.  Intelligence  of  seniors  selecting  different  occupa- 
tional careers.  While  the  difference  in  scores  made  by  the 
group  of  seniors  who  had  selected  a  life  occupation  and  of 
those  who  had  not  is  very  slight,  as  we  have  seen,  there  is 
a  marked  difference  between  the  intelligence  ratings  made 
by  the  groups  selecting  different  occupations,  as  was  shown 
by  comparing  the  records  each  group  made  on  the  mental 
tests.  In  order  to  compare  the  grades  of  intelligence  pos- 
sessed by  the  various  occupational  groups  we  classified 
the  various  occupations  chosen  into  the  following  classes: 

(1)  Physician,  including  doctors,  surgeons,  osteopaths, 
etc. ;  (2)  Teacher,  all  kinds,  including  teachers  of  music 
and  physical  culture;  (3)  Scientist,  including  chemists, 
biologists,  sociologists,  research  specialists,  etc. ;  (4)  Engi- 
neer, mechanical,  electrical,  civil,  mining,  and  chemical ; 
(5)  Business  and  commercial  pursuits,  merchant,  adver- 
tising, real  estate,  banking,  salesman,  etc. ;  (6)  Lawyer; 

(7)  Journalist,    including    author,    editor,  writer,    etc. ; 

(8)  Clerical  worker,  including  clerking,  office  work,  clerk 
in    bank,    bookkeeper,     secretary,    stenographer,    etc. ; 

(9)  Skilled  mechanic   or  artisan,  including  such  trades- 
men  as   telegrapher,    painter,    decorator,    jeweler,  glass 
worker,  carpenter,  etc. ;    (10)    Social  worker,  missionary, 
church  work,  Y.M.C.A.,  etc.;    (11)  Entertainer,  reader, 
Chautauqua  lecturer,  actor,  etc. ;   (12)  Nurse;  (13)  Musi- 
cian; (14)  Farmer;  (15)  Homemaker;    (16)  Minister. 

The  occupations  chosen  by  the  largest  number  of  in- 
dividuals may  be  readily  selected  from  the  list  contained 
in  Table  XVI  by  noting  the  number  of  seniors  who  selected 
each  occupation. 


INTELLIGENCE   AND   VOCATIONAL   CHOICE     123 

TABLE  XVI 

LIFE  CABEEBS  CHOSEN  BY  HIGH  SCHOOL  SENIORS 

BOYS  GIRLS 

Occupations  Cases      Occupations  Cases 

Physician 51     Physician 36 

Teacher 75    Teacher 905 

Lawyer 69    Lawyer 26 

Scientist 41     Scientist 1 

Engineer 432    Engineer 3 

Business 151     Business 0 

Journalist 16     Journalist 18 

Clerical  worker 10    Clerical  worker 646 

Skilled  mechanic 182    Skilled  artisan 4 

Social  worker 3    Social   worker 22 

Entertainer 4    Entertainer 16 

Musician 5     Musician 128 

Farmer 327     Farmer 8 

Minister 12     Nurse 101 

Homemaking 10 

Our  second  problem  was  (1)  to  ascertain  the  general 
level  of  intelligence  of  the  seniors  who  had  selected  each 
of  these  lines  of  work ;  (2)  to  ascertain  which  occupations 
were  attracting  the  brightest  high  school  seniors;  and 
(3)  to  determine  whether  students  possessing  very  superior, 
average,  inferior,  and  very  inferior  grades  of  ability  were 
going  into  each  of  these  lines  of  work  in  about  equal  num- 
bers or  whether  some  occupations  were  drawing  the  bright- 
est students,  others  those  with  only  average  ability,  and 
still  others  attracting  students  who  possess  the  more  in- 
ferior grades  of  intelligence.  Data  bearing  on  each  of 
these  questions  will  be  presented  in  order  in  the  following 
tables  and  curves. 

(a)  General  level  of  ability  of  the  seniors  selecting 
different  occupations.  Figures  29  and  30  show  the  rec- 
ords made  by  the  middle  50  per  cent  of  the  boys  and  girls 


124    INTELLIGENCE   OF   HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

selecting  different  occupations.  The  horizontal  bars  in- 
dicate the  25  percentile,  the  median,  and  75  percentile 
score  for  each  occupational  group  and  will  enable  the  reader 
to  compare  at  a  glance  the  various  occupational  groups 
with  the  state  standard  and  with  each  other  on  the  basis 
of  central  tendency. 

TEST  SCORE  BOYS 

8O       90        100      110        120       130       ItC       ISO       ItoO       170 

PERCENTILES  •—  5         10  15  M  75.        9O     95  99 

OCCUPATION  CHOSEN 
OCCUPATION  NOT  CHOSEN 
SCIENTIST 
MINISTER 
JOURNALIST 
LAWYER 
ENGINEER 
TEACHER 
BUSINESS  MAN 
PHYSICIAN 
FARMER 

SKILLED  MECHANIC 
STENOGRAPHER 

,     '          E-        't     '     O1     C-'c1     C.1     ,'A'      A- 
INTELLIGENCE  GRADES. 

FIGURE  29.  —  Scores  obtained  by  the  middle  50  per  cent  of  senior  boys 
choosing  different  occupations. 

It  may  readily  be  seen  from  Figure  29  that  the  group  of 
boys  selecting  science,  the  ministry,  and  journalism  rank 
ahead  of  all  other  groups.  Those  selecting  business,  medi- 
cine, farming,  a  skilled  trade,  or  stenography  and  book- 
keeping rank  below  every  other  occupational  group. 
Law,  engineering,  and  teaching  occupy  a  position  about 
midway  between  these  other  occupations. 


INTELLIGENCE   AND   VOCATIONAL   CHOICE     125 

The  girls  selecting  journalism,  law,  and  social  service 
rank  higher  than  any  other  occupational  group.  (See 
Figure  30.)  The  groups  selecting  clerical  work,  nursing, 
and  the  professions  of  music  and  art  rank  lowest  on  the 
intelligence  tests ;  the  groups  selecting  medicine,  teaching, 
and  homemaking  occupy  positions  about  midway  between. 

TEST  SCORE 

8O      9O        100      IIO       I2O       I3O       140       ISO       I6O       170 

PERCENTILES  5         IO  15  75         9O    95          99 

JOURNALISM 
LAW 

SOCIAL  SERVICE 
MEDICINE 
TEACHING 
ENTERTAINING 
HOME  MAKING 
CLERICAL  WORK.  I 
MUSIC  tf  ART 
NURSING 


f_  E-       '    E     '     0    '     C-  'C'     C+       B    '    A    '      A* 

"INTELLIGENCE  GBADES 

FIGURE  30.  —  Scores  made  by  the  middle  50  per  cent  of  senior  girls 
choosing  different  occupations. 

Another  method  for  measuring  the  general  level  of  in- 
telligence of  these  several  occupational  groups  which  might 
be  used  is  to  calculate  the  percentage  belonging  to  each 
occupational  group  who  made  scores  above  the  state  me- 
dian. Table  XVII  gives  data  on  this  point  and  shows 
also  the  median  score  for  each  group.  An  inspection  of 
the  table  will  show  that  the  several  occupational  groups 
occupy  the  same  relative  positions  in  this  comparison  that 
they  did  in  the  comparisons  made  in  Figures  29  and  30 


126    INTELLIGENCE   OF   HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 


above.  The  engineering  group  has  a  slightly  higher  per- 
centage of  boys  making  scores  above  the  state  median 
than  we  might  expect  from  the  former  comparison,  due  to 
the  fact  that  a  large  percentage  of  the  prospective  engineers 
made  only  an  average  (C)  or  high  average  (C+)  score  on 

the  tests. 

TABLE  XVII 

PEE  CENT  SELECTING  DIFFERENT  OCCUPATIONS  WHO  MADE  SCORES 
ABOVE  STATE  MEDIAN 


PER  CENT  ABOVE 
STATE  MEDIAN 

MEDIAN  SCORE 
FOR  GROUP 

Boys        Girls 

Boys    Girls 

Scientist  

73.00     

146     ... 

63.34 

146     .  .  . 

Minister  .    . 

Journalist    

62.50    66.67 

146     148 

Lawyer  

59.42    67.70 

143     147 

Engineer          

63.24     

142     ... 

Teacher    

54.13     51.38 

139     138 

Business  

49.75     

137     ... 

Physician                

46.27    51.67 

135     140 

Artisan     

44.50     

134     ... 

Farmer         

40.36     

134     ... 

Clerical  worker  .    .                            .    . 

40.00     45.35 

133     135 

Social  service   

63.64 

...     145 

Homemaking      

50.00 

...     138 

Music  and  art    

43.75 

...     135 

Entertainer     

50.00 

...     138 

Nurse  

43.16 

...     134 

(6)  Occupations  selected  by  the  brightest  and  dullest 
seniors.  If  we  study  the  range  of  intelligence  possessed 
by  the  seniors  belonging  to  these  various  occupational 
groups,  we  find  some  rather  significant  shiftings  in  rank. 
Figures  31  and  32  show  the  percentage  of  boys  and  girls 


INTELLIGENCE   AND   VOCATIONAL   CHOICE     127 


selecting  each  occupation  who  obtained  the  highest  (A  or 
B)  and  the  lowest  (D,  E,  or  F)  intelligence  ratings.  As 
may  readily  be  seen  from  an  inspection  of  Figure  31, 
journalism,  the  ministry,  and  science  still  occupy  first  place 
for  the  boys,  but  the  order  is  reversed  —  journalism  comes 
first,  science  third.  The  business,  skilled  mechanic, 
farming,  and  physician  groups  drop  to  the  lowest  rank, 


Percent 
45 


RATED 
AorB 


30 


41 


BOYS 


75 


10       492 


151 


OCCUPATION 
CHOSEN 


RATED 
O.E  orf 


|S      317 

lu 


JOURNALIST  MINISTER  SCIENTIST  TEACHER  LAWYER    CLERK    ENGINEER. 


.  FARMER.  PHYSICIAN 


TTTF7T 


FIGURE  31.  —  Percentage  of  senior  boys  choosing  different  occupations 
who  made  the  highest  (A  or  B)  and  the  lowest  intelligence  ratings 
on  the  tests. 

while  the  group  selecting  clerical  work  shifts  from  the  low- 
est to  a  middle  position. 

Among  the  girls  fewer  shifts  occur.  Those  choosing 
journalism,  law,  and  social  service  still  stand  at  the  head 
of  the  list  and  in  the  same  order  as  before.  Nursing, 
stenography,  and  music  stand  at  the  bottom  of  the  list. 


128     INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL   SENIORS 


Those  electing  medicine  occupy  a  position  lower  down  in 
the  scale,  showing  that  more  seniors  elect  this  occupation 
who  possess  only  average  ability  than  were  found  among 
the  group  electing  teaching  and  the  other  occupations. 

If  an  occupational  group  ranks  high  in  central  tendency, 
we  cannot,  therefore,  conclude  that  it  will  rank  high  in  the 
percentage  of  seniors  who  possess  the  highest  grades  of 


Percent  in 

45  -i 


RATED 

AorB 


30- 


15 


GIRLS 


905 


OCCUPATION  JOURNAUST-LAW.      SOCIAL-  ENTE.TAW-T 

CHOSEN  «•""«     1NC 

O 


MINI 


118 


RATED       15- 
D,E  orf 

30 

FIGTJBE  32.  —  Percentage  of  senior  girls  choosing  different  occupations 
who  made  the  best  (A  or  B)  and  the  worst  intelligence  ratings  on 
the  tests. 

intelligence  found  among  high  school  seniors.  There  are 
some  notable  illustrations  of  this  fact.  Some  very  bright 
boys  elect  clerical  work,  while  the  general  level  of  ability 
of  this  group,  taken  as  a  whole,  was  very  low.  In  the 
per  cent  of  students  rated  A  or  B  this  occupational  group 
ranks  sixth.  In  median  score  and  in  the  per  cent  belong- 
ing to  the  group  who  scored  above  the  state  median  it  stands 


INTELLIGENCE   AND   VOCATIONAL   CHOICE     129 


at  the  bottom  of  the  list.  In  the  per  cent  of  students 
belonging  to  the  group  rated  A  or  B,  journalism  comes 
first ;  in  the  per  cent  of  students  belonging  to  this  group 
scoring  above  the  state  median  it  ranks  fourth.  The 
group  electing  engineering  ranks  third  in  central  tendency 
but  seventh  in  the  per  cent  belonging  to  the  group  who 
were  rated  A  or  B.  For  the  girls  the  different  grades  of 
ability  are  more  evenly  distributed  throughout  the  several 
occupational  groups.  The  more  important  differences 
revealed  by  these  comparisons  are  shown  by  the  data  pre- 
sented in  Table  XVIII. 

TABLE  XVIII 

INTELLIGENCE  RANKING  OF  SENIORS  CHOOSING  DIFFERENT  OCCUPA- 
TIONAL CAREERS 


PER  CENT  RATED  A  OR  B 

PER  CENT  ABOVE 
STATE  MEDIAN 

MEDIAN  SCORE  FOR 
GROUP 

Journalism     . 
Ministry  .  .  . 
Science  .... 

.  43.75 
.  41.67 
.  41.46 

BOYS 
Science  .  .  .  73.00 
Ministry     .  .  63.34 
Engineer    .  .  63.24 
Journalism    .  62.50 
Lawyer   .  .  .  59.40 
Teacher  .  .  .  54.13 
Business    .  .  49.75 
Physician  .  .  46.27 
Mechanic  .  .  44.50 
Farmer   .  .  .  40.36 
Clerical  .  .  .  40.00 
GIRLS 
Lawyer  .  .  .  67.70 
Journalist.  .  66.67 
Social  service  63.63 
Physician  .   .  51.67 
Teacher.  .  .  51.38 
Entertainer  .  50.00 
Homemaking  50.00 
Clerical  .   .  .  45.55 
Music  and  art  43.75 
Nurse.  .  .  .  43.16 

Science  ....  145.68 
Ministry  .  .  .  145.50 
Journalism  .  .  145.50 
Lawyer  ....  143.20 
Engineer  .  .  .  142.00 
Teacher  .  .  .  139.00 
Business  .  .  .  136.83 
Physician.  .  .  135.00 
Farmer  ....  134.40 
Mechanic.  .  .  134.25 
Clerical  ....  133.34 

Journalist  .  .  148.34 
Lawyer.  .  .  .  147.00 
Social  service  144.50 
Physician  .  .  139.50 
Teacher  .  .  .  137.65 
Entertainer  .  137.50 
Homemaking  137.50 
Clerical.  .  .  .  135.20 
Music  and  art  134.69 
Nurse  ....  134.17 

Teacher    .  .  . 
Lawyer  .... 

.  33.34 
.  31.89 

Clerical  .... 

.  30.00 

Engineers    .  . 
Business  .  .  . 
Mechanic    .  . 
Farmer  .... 

.  29.86 
.  22.88 
.  17.58 
.  16.20 

Physician    .  . 

Journalist    .  . 
Lawyer  .... 

.  11.76 

.  44.45 
.  38.46 

Social  service 
Entertainer    . 
Teacher    .   .  . 
Homemaking 
Physician    .  . 
Nurse    .... 

.  31.36 
.  25.00 
.  23.64 
.  20.00 
.  19.45 
.  17.82 

Clerical.  . 

.  16  10 

Music  and  art 

.  15.62 

130    INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

(c)  Number  in  each  occupational  group  scoring  at  various 
intelligence  levels.  Other  important  differences  between 
the  several  occupational  groups  are  revealed  by  the  dis- 
tribution tables  for  each  group  and  the  tables  (not  printed 
in  this  study)  constructed  to  show  the  per  cent  of  seniors 
belonging  to  the  several  occupational  groups  who  possess 
each  grade  of  intelligence  from  A  to  F.  Frequency  curves 
drawn  from  the  data  contained  in  these  tables  picture  graph- 
ically the  percentage  of  students  selecting  each  occupation 
who  possess  each  grade  of  ability  found  among  high  school 
seniors.  Sample  curves  are  shown  in  Figures  33  to  39. 

These  frequency  curves  and  the  data  contained  in  the 
distribution  tables  for  the  several  occupational  groups 
showed  not  only  the  inequalities  in  mental  strength  found 
among  the  seniors  selecting  different  occupations,  but  other 
significant  differences.  For  example,  seniors  making  an 
A+  rating  on  the  tests  often  select  an  occupation  which 
was  regularly  chosen  by  seniors  possessing  the  lowest 
grades  of  mental  ability  found  among  high  school  seniors. 
This  is  particularly  true  for  the  girls  choosing  stenography 
and  teaching.  Many  girls  electing  teaching  made  the 
lowest  scores  obtained  by  any  high  school  seniors.  Others 
electing  teaching  as  a  profession  possessed  the  highest  grades 
of  ability  found  among  our  total  or  standard  group.  In  this 
occupation  there  is  an  opportunity  for  advancement  and 
for  the  exercise  of  the  full  mental  capacities  of  the  bright- 
est girls ;  but  it  may  be  questioned  whether  the  brightest 
seniors  in  the  entire  state  would  find  adequate  exercise 
for  their  mental  powers  if  they  engaged  in  mere  steno- 
graphic or  clerical  work,  which  they  selected,  not  to  mention 


INTELLIGENCE  AND   VOCATIONAL  CHOICE     131 

the  unfortunate  condition  that  the  dullest  high  school 
seniors  in  the  state  expect  to  enter  the  teaching  profession. 
Figure  33  gives  the  curves  for  the  boys  selecting  science 
and  farming.  The  fact  that  a  much  larger  percentage  of 
the  scientist  group  possess  A+,  A,  B,  and  C+  grades  of 
Percent 
30 1 


15- 
2O- 

15 

10 


5- 


0 


SCIENTIST 

FARMER 


\ 


/  -  X 


A+      A          B         O       C         C-        D          E  E-       F 

INTELLIGENCE  GRADES 

FIGURE  33.  —  Frequency  curves  showing  the  percentage  of  boys  pos- 
sessing each  grade  of  intelligence  who  selected  fanning  and  science 
as  their  vocation  in  life. 

intelligence  than  is  the  case  for  the  farmer  group  is  shown 
by  the  position  of  the  two  curves  at  the  points  indicating 
these  highest  grades  of  intelligence.  That  the  farmer 
group  possesses  a  much  larger  percentage  of  boys  making 
the  lowest  mental  ratings  in  the  tests  is  shown  by  the  rise 
of  the  farmer  curve  at  the  points  indicating  the  C~,  D, 
E,  and  F  grades  of  intelligence. 


132    INTELLIGENCE    OF   HIGH   SCHOOL   SENIORS 


Figure  34  shows  the  per  cent  of  students  belonging  to  the 
groups  choosing  a  skilled  trade,  a  business  career,  and  the 
ministry  that  possess  each  grade  of  mental  ability  from 
A+  to  F.  Figure  35  compares  the  lawyer,  teacher,  and 
physician  groups  on  the  same  basis,  while  Figures  36,  37, 

Percent 
30  n 


15- 
20- 
15- 
10- 
5- 


A+      A          B          C+       C 

INTELLIGENCE  GRADES 


c- 


E- 


FIGURE  34.  —  Frequency  curves  showing  the  percentage  of  boys  choos- 
ing a  skilled  trade,  business,  and  the  ministry  who  possess  each 
grade  of  intelligence  from  A+  to  F. 

and  38  compare  representative  groups  of  girls  electing 
different  occupations.  Figure  36  compares  the  groups 
selecting  teaching  and  nursing.  Figure  37  compares  the 
group  selecting  journalism  with  the  group  electing  music 
and  art,  while  Figure  38  compares  the  girls  selecting  law 
with  those  selecting  stenography  or  secretarial  work. 


INTELLIGENCE   AND   VOCATIONAL  CHOICE     133 

These  figures  and  curves  speak  for  themselves,  but  the 
following  facts  should  be  emphasized. 

1.   The  relatively  large  number  of  boys  belonging  to 
the  group  electing  science  who  possess  the  highest  grades 
of  intelligence,  i.e.  making  an  A,  B,  and  C+  rating,  and 
the  large  percentage  of  boys  selecting  farming  who  possess 
the  lowest  grades  of  intelligence,  i.e.  making  an  intelligence 
rating  below  C~. 
Percent 
30 1 


20^ 
15 


10- 


5- 


15 

X 

^s-~  _...         .. 

/,  I       ^/ 

/  /       /  \V 

/    /       /  \\ 


'J  -  PHYSICIAN 

/  /    --  LAWYER 

---  TEACHER 


A+      A          B         O       C         C-        D         E          E-       F 

INTELLIGENCE  GRADES 

FIQTTHE  35.  —  Frequency  curves  showing  the  percentage  of  boys  choos- 
ing law,  teaching,  and  medicine  who  possess  each  grade  of  intelli- 
gence found  among  our  total  or  standard  group. 

2.  The  fact  that  such  a  large  percentage  of  the  boys 
who  selected  medicine  and  a  skilled  trade  possess  only 
average  mental  ability.1 

1  Compare  the  occupational  intelligence  standards  obtained  by  the 
mental  examinations  made  in  the  army,  Army  Mental  Tests,  p.  23, 
Washington,  D.  C.,  November  22,  1918. 


134    INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH  SCHOOL  SENIORS 

3.  The  inequalities  in  mental  strength  found  among 
the  students  selecting  the  same  occupation ;   compare,  for 
example,  the  range  of  intelligence  in  the  prospective  teach- 
ing and  clerical  groups. 

4.  The  comparatively  low  grades  of  intelligence  pos- 

Percent 
30  T 


25- 


20- 


15- 


/ 


/ 


\ 


/  Ns 

10  H  //       TEACHER  \\ 

/ NURSE  \  \ 

5 


A+      A          B         C+       C         C-        D         E          E-       F 

INTELLIGENCE  GRADES 

FIGURE  36.  —  Frequency  curves  showing  the  percentage  of  girls 
choosing  teaching  and  nursing  who  possess  each  grade  of  intelli- 
gence from  A+  to  F. 

sessed  by  the  groups  selecting  business,  farming,  and  cleri- 
cal work. 

3.  Extent  to  which  high  school  seniors  are  preparing 
for  the  life  occupations  selected.  The  extent  to  which 
these  young  people  had  prepared  in  high  school  or  were 
definitely  planning  to  prepare  in  college  for  the  occupa- 
tions chosen  is  shown  in  a  number  of  ways.  A  com- 


INTELLIGENCE   AND   VOCATIONAL   CHOICE    135 

parison  of  the  occupations  selected  and  the  seniors'  favorite 
subject  in  high  school  indicates  the  extent  to  which  their 
occupational  choice  was  in  line  with  their  general  in- 
terest and  probable  capacity.  The  results  of  this  com- 
parison show  that  the  boys  select  occupations  which  are 
in  harmony  with  their  chief  interests.  There  is  a  positive 
indication  in  our  data  that  the  high  school  study  in  which 

Percent 
30 


75 
20- 
15- 
10- 
5- 


h 

I  / JOURNALISM^ 

/  /         MUSIC  V  ART    \ 


A+       A          B          O       C          C-        D          E  E-       F 

INTELLIGENCE  GRADES 

FIGURE  37.  —  Frequency  curves  showing  percentage  of  girls  choosing 
journalism  and  music  or  art  who  possess  each  grade  of  intelligence 
found  among  high  school  seniors. 

these  students  were  specially  interested  is  a  determining 
factor  in  their  choice  of  an  occupation.  (Compare  Chapter 
IX  below.)  A  few  had  decided  early  in  their  high  school 
career  what  occupation  they  expected  to  follow  and  had 
shaped  their  course  in  high  school  so  as  to  prepare  for  it. 


136     INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

This  is  true  of  most  of  those  who  were  completing  a  voca- 
tional course.  Many  of  those  intending  to  attend  college 
had  also  been  preparing  in  high  school  for  the  occupation 
chosen  and  were  definitely  planning  to  prepare  in  college 
for  the  vocation  selected.  This  was  indicated  by  the  fact 
that  they  had  taken  the  course  in  high  school  giving  the 
best  basis  for  the  occupation  chosen  and  that  they  had 

Percent 
30  T 


75 
20 
15 


/• 

I  ^ 

\ 

\ 
\ 

\ 

/         LAWYER 

CLERICAL  WORKER 


A+      A          B         O       C         C-       D         E          E-       F 
INTELLIGENCE  GRADES 

FIGURE  38.  —  Frequency  curves  showing  the  percentage  of  girls  se- 
lecting clerical  work  and  law  who  possess  each  grade  of  intelli- 
gence found  among  high  school  seniors. 

selected  a  college  which  would  fit  them  for  the  occupation 
they  had  chosen.  The  effect  which  their  choice  of  a  high 
school  course  had  upon  their  choice  of  an  occupation  and 
upon  their  college  intention  is  shown  in  the  following  chap- 
ter. The  extent  to  which  these  seniors  were  planning  to 


INTELLIGENCE   AND   VOCATIONAL   CHOICE     137 

prepare  in  college  for  the  occupation  selected  is  shown  best 
by  their  college  intentions  as  set  forth  below. 

Our  tabulations  were  made  in  such  a  way  (by  making  use 
of  initial  letters,  special  characters,  and  different  colored 
inks)  that  we  could  ascertain  the  percentage  of  students 
choosing  each  occupation  who  were  (1)  going  to  college; 
(2)  not  going  to  college ;  (3)  going  to  a  college  of  liberal 
arts;  (4)  going  to  a  technical  or  professional  school; 
and  (5)  the  percentage  who  had  not  decided  what  kind  of 
college  they  would  attend.  These  comparisons  revealed 
the  following  facts : 

1.  The  high  school  seniors  who  had  selected  a  life 
occupation  not  only  knew  the  requirements  for  the  occupa- 
tion selected,  but  they  were  actually  planning  to  attend 
the  type  of  college  and  to  take  the  kind  of  course  which 
would  give  them  the  best  possible  preparation  for  the  work 
in  life  which  they  had  selected.  All  of  the  prospective 
ministers  stated  that  they  were  going  to  college,  75  per 
cent  of  them  selecting  a  college  of  liberal  arts.  Of  those 
expecting  to  be  engineers  96  per  cent  stated  that  they 
would  attend  college  next  year,  and  all  but  one  of  this 
group  stated  that  they  were  going  to  an  engineering 
or  technical  college.  Only  one  was  undecided  in  regard 
to  the  kind  of  college  he  expected  to  attend.  Of  the  pro- 
spective lawyers  97  per  cent  had  definitely  decided  to  go  to 
college  and  100  per  cent  of  this  group  were  planning  to 
go  to  a  professional  school.  Of  the  group  selecting  medi- 
cine 92  per  cent  stated  that  they  expected  to  go  to  college 
and  82  per  cent  of  this  group  selected  a  professional  school. 
Of  those  selecting  the  profession  of  teaching  95  per  cent 


138     INTELLIGENCE    OF   HIGH   SCHOOL   SENIORS 


were  going  to  college  and  87  per  cent  of  this  number  ex- 
pected to  attend  a  normal  school  or  a  liberal  arts  college. 
Only  66  per  cent  of  the  skilled  artisan  group  and  54  per 
cent  of  the  group  going  into  business  expected  to  attend 
college.  Most  of  the  skilled  mechanics  (56  per  cent)  were 
going  to  a  technical  school,  and  30.5  per  cent  of  those  going 
into  business  selected  a  college  of  liberal  arts.  Of  the  pro- 
spective farmer  group  only  5  per  cent  expected  to  go  to  col- 
lege, and  only  27  per  cent  of  this  number  expected  to  attend 
an  agriculture  college.  (See  Table  XIX.) 

TABLE  XIX 

PER  CENT  OF  BOYS  CHOOSING  EACH  OCCUPATION  WHO  ARE  GOING 
TO  COLLEGE 


.  a 
a  o 

w 

5 

S  S 

OCCUPATIONS  SELECTED 

go 

H  ^  § 

fe  5  H 

a  3  3 

isjU 

E|S| 

O  o  w 

r>O  o 

O  o  2  H 

O  O  a  H 

O     Kl  K 

5C    h9 

H  9  3 

«S° 

«SSd 

K  2  W  J 

wggw 

H  0  0 

£*g 

£££<§ 

fc^o 

Physician    

92.16 

7.84 

82.24 

3.92 

Minister     ...        

100.00 

8.33 

75.00 

16.67 

Teacher     

94.66 

5.33 

4.00 

86.66 

4.00 

Scientist     

93.18 

6.82 

79.54 

6.82 

6.82 

Engineer    

96.05 

3.95 

95.82 

.23 

Business  

53.90 

46.10 

3.90 

30.52 

19.48 

Lawyer  

96.93 

3.07 

96.93 

Journalist  

93.75 

6.25 

75.00 

18.75 

Bookkeeper  and  stenographer 

50.00 

50.00 

20.00 

30.00 

Skilled  mechanic      

65.55 

34.55 

56.11 

1.11 

8.33 

Farmer  

58.84 

41.16 

26.69 

6.75 

25.40 

2.  While  the  basic  conditions  for  selection  and  prepara- 
tion for  the  occupations  chosen  seems,  therefore,  to  be 
fairly  satisfactory,  the  most  significant  fact  revealed  by  the 


INTELLIGENCE   AND   VOCATIONAL   CHOICE     139 

above  comparisons  does  not  appear  on  the  surface ;  namely, 
the  small  number  of  occupations  actually  selected  by  this 
large  group  of  high  school  graduates.  Only  16  lines  of 
work  were  chosen  by  the  6188  high  school  seniors.  Of  the 
girls  selecting  a  definite  occupation  81  per  cent  chose  ste- 
nography or  teaching ;  80  per  cent  of  the  boys  chose  only 
four  lines  of  work.  This  shows  rather  clearly  that  our 
high  schools  are  poorly  adapted  to  meet  the  vocational  in- 
terests and  needs  of  all  classes  of  students,  and  are  not 
adequately  meeting  the  vocational  needs  of  the  state. 
Our  results  on  this  point  show  that  the  high  school  prepares 
for  and  directs  young  people  towards  only  a  few  standard 
occupations ;  that  they  are  not,  in  fact,  institutions  meeting 
the  interests  and  needs  of  their  students  or  the  vocational 
needs  of  the  state.  Many  of  these  seniors  are  more  or 
less  adrift,  so  far  as  their  life  work  is  concerned.  Others 
are  selecting  work  ill  adapted  to  their  native  mental 
strength.  All  seem  to  need  more  efficient  educational  and 
vocational  guidance  than  our  high  schools  are  at  present 
able  to  give  them. 

4.  General  summary  and  discussion  of  results.  Sum- 
marizing briefly  the  results  obtained  in  this  chapter  we 
have  the  following: 

1.  About  two-thirds  of  the  seniors  taking   our   tests 
had  chosen  their  vocation  in  life.     The  number  is  slightly 
greater  among  the  boys  (64  per  cent)  than  among  the  girls 
(60  per  cent). 

2.  Only  16  different  lines  of  work  were  chosen  by  OUT 
total  group  of  more  than  6000  seniors.     Some  of  these 
occupations  were  selected  by  so  few  seniors  as  to  make 


140    INTELLIGENCE   OF   HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

them  almost  negligible.  The  occupations  selected  most 
often  by  the  boys  were  engineering  (31  per  cent)  and  farm- 
ing (24  per  cent) ;  by  the  girls  teaching  (47  per  cent)  and 
clerical  work  (34  per  cent).  These  results  suggest  that 
the  high  schools  of  the  state  are  not  meeting  the  vocational 
needs  of  their  students  as  well  as  they  should.  We  have 
boys  and  girls  coming  into  our  high  schools  from  all  classes 
and  occupational  groups.  The  high  school  is  unconsciously 
directing  them  towards  a  few  lines  of  work  —  the  tradi- 
tional professions.  Many  of  these  seniors  are  adrift  so 
far  as  the  selection  of  their  life  work  is  concerned.  Others 
are  selecting  occupations  and  actually  preparing  or  plan- 
ning to  prepare  for  lines  of  work  ill  adapted  to  their  mental 
strength.  It  is  clear  that  these  young  people  need  more 
efficient  vocational  guidance  than  our  high  schools  are 
at  present  able  to  give  them.  Our  results  clearly  show 
that  they  are  planning  to  prepare  for  the  occupations  chosen 
on  the  basis  of  their  limited  high  school  experience  and 
without  the  skilled  advice  needed  to  enable  them  to 
make  a  choice  in  accordance  with  their  mental  abilities, 
not  to  mention  the  opportunities  offered  for  economic 
success  in  the  occupation  selected. 

3.  From  the  data  collected  it  further  appears  that 
little  thought  is  being  given  by  high  school  seniors  to  the 
matter  of  selecting  their  vocation  in  life.  Those  having 
selected  an  occupation  rank  only  slightly  higher  on  the 
tests,  if  taken  as  a  group,  than  the  seniors  who  had  not 
done  so.  There  is  almost  no  difference  between  the  two 
groups  in  central  tendency  and  there  are  about  as  many 
seniors  ranked  A  or  B  in  the  group  which  had  not  selected 


INTELLIGENCE   AND   VOCATIONAL   CHOICE     141 

a  life  occupation  as  in  the  group  which  had  selected  a  vo- 
cation in  life.  The  brightest  boys,  those  rated  A+,  seem, 
however,  to  have  decided  in  larger  numbers  than  those 
with  more  inferior  grades  of  ability. 

4.  There  is  a  marked  difference  in  the  intelligence  of 
the  seniors  selecting  different  occupational  careers.     The 
boys  going  into  the  ministry,  journalism,  and  science  rank 
intellectually  above  other  occupational  groups  both  in 
central  tendency  and  in  the  percentage  of  individuals  be- 
longing to  the  group  who  make  the  highest  intelligence 
ratings  made  by  high   school  seniors.     Those  selecting 
medicine,  business,  and  farming  make  the  lowest  ratings  in 
the  tests.    Those  selecting  law,  engineering,  and  teaching 
occupy  a  position  about  midway  between.     The  girls  se- 
lecting journalism,  social  service,  and  law  rank  above  every 
other  occupational  group.     Those  selecting  clerical  work, 
nursing,  music,  or  art,  if  taken  as  a  group,  rank  lowest  in 
the  intelligence  test ;  the  group  selecting  teaching,  medicine, 
and  homemaking,  taken  as  a  whole,  occupy  a  middle  posi- 
tion, and  these  rankings  remain  the  same  whether  we  com- 
pare them  on  the  basis  of  central  tendency  or  percentage  of 
thjg  total  group  possessing  the  higher  grades  of  intelligence. 

5.  The  brightest   senior  boys  in  the    state    selected 
science  and  engineering.     The  dullest  boys  selected  farm- 
ing.    Those  selecting  certain  professions,  notably  medi- 
cine, possess  only  average  mental  ability  for  high  school 
seniors ;  they  are  only  on  a  par  mentally  with  the  group 
selecting  a  skilled  trade,  a  very  significant  fact,  if  gener- 
ally true,  for  our  coming  physicians. 

6.  The  range  in  intelligence  within  certain  of  these 


142    INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL   SENIORS 

occupational  groups  is  very  great.  Many  girls  electing 
the  profession  of  teaching  make  the  lowest  intelligence 
rating  made  by  high  school  seniors;  others  make  the 
highest.  The  brightest  senior  girls  in  the  entire  state 
selected  clerical  work,  though  the  average  intelligence 
rating  for  this  occupation  is  very  low.  Similar  inequali- 
ties occur  among  the  male  occupational  groups.  In  some 
of  these  occupations  there  is  opportunity  for  the  exercise 
of  the  full  mental  capacities  and  powers  of  the  brightest 
students ;  in  others  there  is  need  for  only  inferior  in- 
telligence. The  latter  occupations  were  nevertheless 
selected  by  the  brighest  seniors  in  the  state,  not  to  men- 
tion the  unfortunate  condition  that  the  dullest  seniors  are 
selecting  such  occupations  as  teaching,  medicine,  and  nurs- 
ing in  large  numbers,  which  clearly  demand  the  exercise  of 
a  mental  equipment  beyond  their  native  mental  powers. 

These  and  other  facts  revealed  in  this  chapter  point 
to  a  clearly  defined  need  for  wiser  vocational  direction 
for  high  school  seniors,  guidance  which  will  at  least  ad- 
just the  occupation  chosen  to  the  mental  strength  of  the 
individual.  In  no  other  way  will  we  be  able  to  con- 
serve and  economically  cultivate  the  full  capacities  and 
talents  of  the  young  people  of  the  state. 

7.  Our  results  show  further  that  the  seniors  who  had 
chosen  their  occupation  not  only  knew  what  is  necessary 
to  prepare  for  the  vocation  selected,  but  they  are  in 
nearly  every  case  definitely  planning  to  prepare  for  the 
occupation  chosen,  a  fact  which  emphasizes  still  further 
the  need  for  wiser  vocational  and  educational  direction 
in  high  school. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


SEVEN  curricula,  differing  rather  widely  in  subject  mat- 
ter, requirements  for  graduation,  and  purpose  were  offered 
in  the  high  schools  cooperating  in  this  study — the  classical, 
academic,  scientific,  general,  college  preparatory,  com- 
mercial or  business,  and  so-called  vocational  courses.1 

Many  educational  traditions  cluster  around  some  of 
these  courses.  There  is  also  a  tendency  on  the  part  of 
many  teachers  and  parents  to  attach  greater  educational 
importance  to  some  of  these  courses  than  to  others.  Some 
of  them,  with  the  emphasis  given  to  certain  subjects,  have 
been  forced  into  the  high  school  by  influences  from  without 
the  school ;  and  it  has  often  been  charged  that  parents  and 
teachers  advise  the  brightest  or  most  ambitious  students 
to  take  certain  of  these  courses  in  preference  to  others.  We 
desired,  therefore,  to  compare  the  scores  made  on  the  in- 
telligence tests  by  the  seniors  who  were  completing  each 
type  of  course,  to  ascertain :  (1)  which  course  was  attract- 
ing the  ablest  students  graduating  from  the  high  schools 
of  the  state ;  (2)  which  course  was  sending  most  students 

1It  should  be  pointed  out  that  the  traditional  high  school  curricula 
designated  by  these  various  names  have  been  very  materially  modified 
in  Indiana  in  recent  years  in  order  to  modernize  the  high  school  course 
and  to  attempt  to  adapt  it  more  nearly  to  the  varying  needs  of  all  classes 
of  students.  See  manual  for  course  of  study  for  Indiana  high  schools, 
Department  of  Public  Instruction,  Bulletin  No,  35,  1918. 

143 


144    INTELLIGENCE   OF   HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 


to  college;  (3)  what  effect,  if  any,  the  course  pursued  in 
high  school  was  having  upon  the  selection  of  an  occupa- 
tion and  the  selection  of  a  college  course;  and  (4)  the 
courses  pursued  by  the  largest  number  of  seniors  who  were 
accelerated  or  retarded  by  the  school. 

It  should  be  pointed  out  at  the  beginning,  however,  that 
only  a  few  of  the  high  schools  giving  the  tests  offered  all 
of  these  courses.  Some  offer  only  two,  three,  four,  or  five. 
The  chances  for  a  senior  to  elect  each  of  these  courses 
were,  therefore,  not  equal,  since  the  choice  in  many  schools 
was  limited.  Notwithstanding  this  fact  our  results  are 
clear  and  striking.  Table  XX  shows  the  number  of  boys 
and  girls  who  were  successfully  completing  each  type  of 

high  school  course. 

TABLE  XX 

NUMBER  OP  SENIORS  GRADUATING  FROM  EACH  TYPE   OF   HIGH 
SCHOOL  COURSE 


GEOUPS 
COMPABED 

COURSES  OFFERED 

Gen- 
eral 

Aca- 
demic 

Com- 
mercial 
or 
Busi- 
ness 

College 
Prepa- 
ratory 

Voca- 
tional 

Classi- 
cal 

Scien- 
tific 

Total 
Cases 

Boys    
Girls    

1209 
1811 

799 
1059 

86 

278 

101 
139 

40 
74 

41 
70 

30 
11 

2306 
3442 

Total   

3020 

1858 

364 

240 

114 

111 

41 

5748 

Per  cent    .  .  . 

52.54 

32.32 

6.33 

4.17 

1.98 

1.93 

.71 

99.98 

1.  General  level  of  intelligence  of  the  seniors  com- 
pleting each  type  of  high  school  course.  The  best  indica- 
tion of  the  general  level  of  intelligence  of  the  seniors  com- 
pleting each  type  of  high  school  course  is  shown  by  the 


INTELLtGENCE   AND   CHOICE   OF  CURRICULA     145 

record  made  by  the  middle  50  per  cent  of  the  students 
graduating  from  each  course.  Figure  39  presents  these 
data  for  each  of  the  seven  courses  and  shows  that  the 
students  pursuing  the  classical  course  rank  highest  on 
the  tests  while  those  completing  a  vocational  course 
rank  lowest;  that  those  completing  the  classical  course 
rank  about  as  far  above  the  state  standard  as  those  com- 
pleting a  vocational  course  rank  below  it ;  that  the  number 


PERCENTILES  *  ^ 


5         10 

CLASSICAL 


9O     95 


99 


INTELLIGENCE 


ACADEMIC 
SCIENTIFIC 
GENERAL 
COLLEGE  PREPARATORY 
COMMERCIAL 
VOCATIONAL 


GRADES 


E- 


C-     C       C+       B 


FIGURE  39.  —  Scores  made  by  the  middle  50  per  cent  of  seniors  gradu- 
ating from  each  type  of  high  school  course. 

of  students  graduating  from  these  two  courses  are  equal ; 
that  the  students  completing  other  types  of  courses  rank 
somewhere  in  between  these  extremes,  arranging  them- 
selves in  the  following  descending  order :  academic  next  to 
classical,  then  scientific,  general,  college  preparatory,  com- 
mercial, and  vocational.  It  should  also  be  pointed  out 


146     INTELLIGENCE   OF   HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 


that  the  seniors  pursuing  the  academic  and  scientific  courses 
rank  above  the  state  standard  in  median  scores,  while  those 
pursuing  the  general  and  vocational  courses  fall  below  it. 
2.  Range  in  intelligence  of  the  seniors  pursuing  different 
courses.  We  were  also  interested  to  ascertain  which  high 
school  course  attracted  the  brightest  seniors  and  which  the 
dullest.  Information  on  this  point  is  given  in  Table  XXI 
and  Figure  40.  Table  XXI  shows  the  per  cent  of  students 
graduating  from  each  type  of  high  school  course  who  ob- 
tained an  A  or  B  rating  on  the  intelligence  tests;  also 
those  who  made  an  inferior  (D,  E,  or  F),  and  an  average 
(C+,  C,  or  C~)  rating.  For  the  information  of  the  reader  we 
have  also  included  in  this  table  the  median  scores  for  these 
several  course-groups  and  the  percentages  making  scores 
above  the  median  for  our  total  or  standard  group. 

TABLE  XXI 

PER  CENT  OF  STUDENTS  GRADUATING  FROM  EACH  COURSE  WHO 
POSSESS  DIFFERENT  GRADES  OF  ABILITY 


COL- 

PER CENT  RATED 

CLAS- 
SICAL 

ACA- 
DEMIC 

SCIEN- 
TIFIC 

GEN- 
ERAL 

LEGE 
PRE- 

COM- 
MER- 

VOCA- 
TIONAL 

PARA- 

CIAL 

1 

TORY 

AorB     .... 

28.80 

24.86 

24.34 

20.73 

17.50 

16.20 

15.79 

D,  E,  or  F  .  .  . 

20.70 

24.00 

24.40 

29.23 

21.24 

26.92 

25.43 

C+  C,  orC-    . 

50.50 

51.13 

51.21 

50.04 

61.26 

56.88 

58.78 

Per  cent  above 

state  median 

58.25 

53.60 

56.10 

47.64 

49.59 

48.07 

45.61 

Median  score 

for  group  .  . 

142 

139 

134 

136 

137 

138 

135 

Total  cases    .  . 

111 

1858 

41 

3020 

240 

364 

114 

The  table  shows  that  the  largest  percentage  of  students 
with  superior  (B)  and  very  superior  (A)  intelligence  took 


INTELLIGENCE  AND  CHOICE   OF  CURRICULA     147 


the  classical,  academic,  and  scientific  courses.  The  college 
preparatory,  commercial,  and  vocational  courses  contain 
the  smallest  percentage  of  seniors  belonging  to  these  su- 
perior groups.  The  general  course  contained  the  largest 

Percent 


70- 


RATED 
AorB 


10 


0 


0 


10 


CLASSICAL- ACADEMIC -SCIEM-  •  GENERAL-  COILEGE-COMMERCIAL'VOCAT- 
TIF,C  PREPARATORY  IONAL 


RATED 
D,E  orF 


30 


FIGURE  40.  —  Percentage  of  seniors  completing  each  type  of  high 
school  course  who  made  an  A  or  B  and  a  D,  E,  or  F  intelligence 
rating  on  the  tests. 


148    INTELLIGENCE    OF   HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

percentage  of  seniors  rated  D,  E,  or  F,  with  the  commercial 
and  vocational  courses  coming  next.  The  college  prepara- 
tory, commercial,  and  vocational  courses  contained  the 
largest  percentage  of  seniors  possessing  an  average  or  C 
grade  of  ability.  Where  the  per  cent  rated  A  or  B  is  high 
and  the  per  cent  making  scores  above  the  state  median  low, 
as  is  the  case  with  the  classical  group,  it  means  that  a 
large  proportion  of  the  group  are  rated  C+  or  C.  Most  of 
these  facts  are  shown  in  Figure  40,  which  indicates  the  per 
cent  of  seniors  pursuing  each  course  who  made  an  A  or  B 
and  a  D,  E,  or  F  intelligence  rating  on  our  tests.  As  may 
readily  be  seen,  there  is  a  regular  gradation  downwards 
from  the  classical  to  the  vocational  course. 

If  we  push  our  comparisons  one  step  further  to  ascertain 
which  courses  are  being  taken  by  the  seniors  rated  A+  or 
A  and  E  or  F,  we  find  that  the  brightest  and  dullest  stu- 
dents are  not  found  in  the  classical  course-group,  but  in  the 
academic  or  general  courses.  A  special  distribution  table 
was  prepared  showing  the  percentage  of  students  pursuing 
each  type  of  course  who  possess  each  grade  of  ability  from 
A+  (approximately  the  highest  1  per  cent  of  our  standard 
group)  to  F  (the  intelligence  rating  for  approximately  the 
lowest  1  per  cent  of  the  total  group).  This  comparison 
shows  that  there  are  proportionally  more  students  with 
these  very  superior  grades  of  ability  among  the  seniors 
selecting  the  academic  and  scientific  courses  than  among 
those  selecting  the  classical  or  college  preparatory  courses. 
In  fact,  the  proportion  of  "very  superior"  students  in  the 
vocational  courses  is  about  as  high  as  it  is  in  the  classical 
course.  (See  Table  XXII.) 


INTELLIGENCE   AND   CHOICE   OF   CURRICULA     149 


TABLE  XXII 

PERCENTAGE  OF  STUDENTS  RATED  A+  OR  F  WHO  SELECTED  EACH 
TYPE  OF  HIGH  SCHOOL  COURSE 


PER  CENT 
RATED 

ACA- 
DEMIC 

SCIEN- 
TIFIC 

GEN- 
ERAL 

CLASSI- 
CAL 

VOCA- 
TIONAL 

COM- 
MERCIAL 

COL- 
LEGE 
PREPAR- 

CASES 

ATORY 

A+  .  .  . 

2.90- 

2.44 

1.99 

1.80 

1.75 

.82 

.42 

123 

F     .  .  . 

.86 

.00 

1.69 

.00 

.87 

.27 

.00 

69 

A    ... 

6.73 

4.88 

5.46 

8.10 

4.39 

4.39 

3.33 

330 

E-.  .  . 

4.20 

4.88 

6.06 

1.80 

5.26 

3.85 

2.08 

280 

3.  Number  of  students  pursuing  different  courses  who 
score  at  the  various  intelligence  levels.    That  the  com- 
mercial and  vocational  courses  contained  proportionately 
more  seniors  possessing  average  intelligence  and  fewer 
from  the  higher  levels  and  correspondingly  more   from 
the  lower  levels  of  intelligence  is  graphically  shown  by 
the  frequency  curves  in  Figures  41  and  42,  which  show 
the  per  cent  of  seniors  pursuing  various  types  of  high 
school  courses  who  possess  each  grade  of  intelligence  from 
A+  to  F.     A  mere  glance  at  these  curves  will  show  that 
for  all  the  higher  grades  of  mental  ability  the  curves  for  the 
students  pursuing  the  classical,  academic,  and  scientific 
courses  pass  above  the  curves  for  the  vocational  and  com- 
mercial groups,  but  for  all  the  lower  grades  of  ability  the 
curves  for  the  commercial  and  vocational  groups  rise 
above  the  other  curves. 

4.  High    school    courses    pursued    by    the    students 
whom  the   school    had   accelerated    or    retarded.     As 
shown  in  Chapter  V  the  seniors  who  were  promoted  more 
rapidly  than  normally  by  the  school  rated  higher  on  the 


150    INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

mental  tests  than  did  those  who  were  retarded  or  only  nor- 
mally advanced.  We  were,  therefore,  interested  to  know 
what  courses  had  been  selected  by  the  seniors  whom  the 
schools  had  accelerated,  retarded,  or  normally  promoted. 
Figure  40  shows  that  a  larger  percentage  of  students 
graduating  from  the  classical,  academic,  and  scientific 

Percent 
3O 


25 
20- 
15- 
10- 
5- 


/ 


\ 


\ 


/  /        \ 

I  /         N 

1     \  • 

/  V 

'*    COMMERCIAL  ^     ' 

SCIENTIFIC 


A+      A         B         C+       C         C-       D         E          E-       F 

INTELLIGENCE  GRADES 

FIGURE  41.  —  Frequency  curves  for  all  seniors  pursuing  a  commer- 
cial and  scientific  course  in  high  school,  showing  the  percentage 
belonging  to  each  group  who  possess  each  grade  of  intelligence 
from  A+  to  F. 

courses  were  rated  A  or  B  on  the  intelligence  tests  than 
were  found  among  the  groups  who  selected  any  of  the  other 
four  courses.  In  other  words,  the  seniors  graduating  from 
the  college  preparatory,  commercial,  and  vocational  courses 
contain  the  smallest  percentage  of  students  rated  A  or 
B,  while  the  seniors  graduating  from  the  general  course 


INTELLIGENCE  AND  CHOICE  OP  CURRICULA     151 

make  records  which  place  them  about  midway  between 
these  other  groups.  We  therefore  divided  our  seniors  into 
three  groups :  (1)  the  graduates  from  the  classical,  scien- 
tific, and  academic  courses  because  they  ranked  highest  in 
intelligence ;  (2)  the  graduates  from  the  commercial,  col- 
Percent 


ww 

75- 

A 

/A-^x"^ 

20- 
15- 

''/T\\ 
I/*  >%«  ''\\ 

///      v    \ 

10- 

//.I               \ 

5- 

/     /                                                    ^ 

,'/    /  ACADEMIC 
fy  /      VOCATIONAL 
S'            "—"CLASSICAL 

N^^T- 

,    ^ 

vx^ 

o 

A+     A.        B          C+       C         C-       D 

E           E-       F 

INTELLIGENCE  GRADES 

FIGURE  42.  —  Frequency  curves  for  all  seniors  completing  a  vocational, 
academic,  or  classical  course,  showing  percentage  belonging  to  each 
course-group  who  possess  the  various  grades  of  intelligence  found 
among  the  high  school  seniors  of  the  state. 

lege  preparatory,  and  vocational  courses  because  they 
ranked  lowest  in  intelligence ;  and  (3)  the  graduates  from 
the  general  course  because  they  made  an  intelligence  rating 
which  placed  them  midway  between  the  other  two  groups. 
We  next  distributed  these  seniors  with  reference  to  age  at 
graduation  in  order  to  discover  which  course-groups  had 


152    INTELLIGENCE   OF   HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 


been  accelerated,  retarded,  or  normally  promoted  by  the 
school  to  the  greatest  degree. 

Table  XXIII  gives  this  information  and  shows  that 
the  courses  containing  the  largest  proportion  of  students 
with  superior  intelligence  (the  classical,  academic,  and 
scientific)  have  also  the  highest  percentage  of  seniors  ac- 
celerated, or  graduating  at  the  ages  of  15,  16,  or  17;  and 
that  the  vocational,  commercial,  and  college  preparatory 
courses  contain  the  smallest  percentage  of  students  ac- 
celerated by  the  school.  This  is  especially  true  for  the 

boys. 

TABLE  XXIII 

PER  CENT  OP  GRADUATES  FROM  DIFFERENT  COURSES  WHO  WERE 
ACCELERATED,  RETARDED,  OR  NORMAL  IN  SCHOOL  STANDING 


AQE  GROUPS 

ACCELERATED 
15.      16.      17 

NOR- 
MAL 
18 

RETARDED 
19,    20,    21-27 

Boys 


Per  cent  graduating  from  : 

Classical,  academic,  and  scientific 

courses  

54 

53 

43 

34 

34 

34 

?4 

General  course    

38 

40 

49 

55 

54 

6? 

59 

College  preparatory,  commercial, 

and  vocational  courses    .... 

8 

7 

8 

11 

12 

4 

17 

Girls 


Classical,  academic,  and  scientific 
courses  

69    35 

34 

30 

35 

30 

30 

General  course   

19     44 

53 

54 

48 

61 

54 

College  preparatory,  commercial, 
and  vocational  courses  

12     17 

13 

16 

17 

9 

16 

On  the  other  hand,  if  we  examine  the  figures  for  the 
retarded  groups,  those  graduating  at  the  ages  of  19,  20,  or 


INTELLIGENCE    AND    CHOICE    OF   CURRICULA     153 


21-27,  we  notice  a  marked  increase  in  the  percentage  of 
seniors  belonging  to  these  age-groups  graduating  from  the 
general,  vocational,  commercial,  or  college  preparatory 
courses,  and  a  decrease  in  the  percentage  of  students  grad- 
uating from  the  academic,  classical,  and  scientific  courses, 
showing  that  the  latter  courses  contain  a  larger  proportion 
of  seniors  who  had  been  accelerated,  and  the  former  a 
larger  percentage  of  students  who  had  been  retarded  by 
the  school. 

This  is  still  more  clearly  brought  out  if  we  compare  the 
percentage  of  students  graduating  from  the  academic  and 
general  courses,  shown  in  Table  XXIV. 

TABLE  XXIV 

PER  CENT  GRADUATING  AT  DIFFERENT  AGES  COMPLETING  ACA- 
DEMIC AND  GENERAL  COURSES  (SEXES  COMBINED) 


HIGH  SCHOOL  COURSES 
COMPARED 

AGE  AT  TIME  OF  GRADUATION 

Accelerated 
15,     16,      17 

Nor- 
mal 
IS 

Retarded 
19,   20,    21-27 

Academic    

51      41      35 

28    42     51 

29 

55 

33    30    26 
51     61    56 

General    

5.  High  school  courses  sending  most  students  to  col- 
lege. A  question  of  considerable  importance  is  the  effect 
which  the  choice  of  a  high  school  course  has  upon  a  stu- 
dent's college  intention  and  his  choice  of  a  vocation  in  life. 
Table  XXV  shows  the  percentage  of  boys  and  girls  com- 
pleting each  type  of  course  who  stated  positively  that  they 
were  going  to  college.  The  table  shows  that  the  scientific, 


154    INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 


college  preparatory,  and  classical  courses  send  a  greater 
percentage  of  their  students  to  college  than  the  general, 
academic,  commercial,  or  vocational  courses.  The  scien- 
tific course  ranks  highest  in  this  respect ;  the  commercial 
and  vocational  courses  lowest. 

TABLE   XXV 


COL- 

COURSES 

CLAS- 
SICAL, 

ACA- 
DEMIC 

SCIEN- 
TIFIC 

GEN- 
ERAL 

LEGE 
PRE- 
PARA- 

COM- 
MER- 
CIAL 

VOCA- 
TIONAL 

TORY 

Boys  

70 

79 

93 

75 

81 

40 

52 

Girls  

70 

46 

73 

61 

55 

25 

46 

6.  Effect  of  high  school  course  on  choice  of  college 
and  selection  of  a  college  course.  Another  question  of 
considerable  importance  was  suggested  by  our  compar- 
ative study  of  the  occupations  chosen,  the  high  school 
subjects  preferred,  and  the  kind  of  college  selected  by 
our  total  group  of  seniors.  To  what  extent  had  these 
young  people  been  preparing  in  high  school  and  how  defi- 
nitely are  they  looking'  forward  to  collegiate  work  which 
will  prepare  them  for  the  occupations  chosen?  Table 
XXVI  shows  the  percentage  completing  each  type  of 
high  school  course  who  stated  that  they  were  going  to  a 
liberal  arts  college,  or  to  a  professional  or  technical  school, 
and  also  the  percentage  who  had  not  selected  the  college 
they  expected  to  attend. 


INTELLIGENCE    AND    CHOICE   OF   CURRICULA     155 


TABLE  XXVI 

COLLEGE  INTENTION  OP  STUDENTS  COMPLETING  EACH   TYPE  OP 
HIGH  SCHOOL  COURSE 


VARIOUS  COURSE  GROUPS 

TOTAL  COURSE- 
GROUP 

Classi- 
cal 

Aca- 
demic 

Scien- 
tific 

Gen- 
eral 

College 
Prepar- 
atory 

Com- 
mercial 

Voca- 
tional 

B.   G. 

B.    G. 

B.   G. 

B.   G. 

B.   G. 

B.    G. 

B.    G. 

Going  to  liberal 

arts  colleges 

3257 

1650 

1163 

1763 

3387 

5055 

1453 

Going  to  techni- 

cal colleges   . 

50    6 

56    2 

75  12 

49    3 

61    4 

25    3 

71  14 

Undecided.  No 

college 

selected  .  .  . 

1837 

2848 

1423 

3434 

6    9 

2542 

1533 

While  these  facts  are  not  conclusive,  they  show  pretty 
clearly  that  most  of  the  boys  pursuing  a  scientific,  voca- 
tional, and  college  preparatory  course  in  high  school,  who 
plan  to  go  to  college,  expect  to  attend  a  technical  school. 
What  is  still  more  suggestive  is  the  fact  that  boys  gradu- 
ating from  the  classical,  academic,  and  general  courses  are 
going  to  technical  colleges  rather  than  to  colleges  of  liberal 
arts.  But  the  most  significant  fact  is  the  large  percent- 
age of  boys  graduating  from  the  scientific  and  vocational 
courses  who  have  selected  a  technical  college  and  the 
large  percentage  of  those  graduating  from  a  general  course 
who  have  not  decided  what  college  they  will  attend. 

Most  of  the  girls  have  selected  a  college  of  liberal  arts, 
as  we  might  expect.  The  girls  are  naturally  more  un- 
settled vocationally  than  the  boys.  The  students  grad- 
uating from  the  college  preparatory,  scientific,  and  classi- 


156     INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

cal  courses  seem  to  be  more  firmly  decided  upon  what  they 
are  going  to  do,  i.e.  more  students  in  these  groups  have 
decided  definitely  what  college  they  will  attend.  The 
largest  percentage  of  boys  going  to  liberal  arts  colleges 
have  graduated  from  the  commercial,  college  preparatory, 
or  classical  courses.  The  largest  percentage  of  girls  going 
to  liberal  arts  colleges  graduated  from  a  college  prepara- 
tory, general,  scientific,  or  classical  course. 

7.  General  summary  of  the  findings.  Summarizing 
briefly  the  facts  revealed  by  the  various  comparisons 
made  in  this  chapter,  we  may  say  : 

1.  That  the  classical,  academic,  and  scientific  courses, 
if  taken  as  a  whole,  attracted  the  ablest  students  graduat- 
ing from  the  high  schools  of  the  state  last  year,  that  the 
group  of  students  completing  a  vocational  course  rank 
lowest  on  the  intelligence  tests,  and  that  the  students 
electing  a  general  and  college  preparatory  or  commercial 
course  rank  somewhere  between  these  other  groups.    This 
is  true  whether  we  compare  these  various  course-groups 
on  the  basis  of  central  tendency  —  the  general  level  of 
intelligence  possessed  by  the  group  —  or  on  the  basis  of 
the  percentage  belonging  to  the  group  who  make  the  high- 
est intelligence  scores  made  by  any  high  school  seniors. 

2.  The  brightest  seniors  in  the  state,  i.e.  those  making 
an  intelligence  rating  of  A+,  were  completing  an  academic 
course.    A  few  individuals  ranking  in  this  highest  1  per- 
centile  group  for  all  high  school  seniors  were  found  in  the 
commercial,  vocational,  and   general   courses.     None   in 
this  most  superior  group  was  taking  a  classical  or  college 
preparatory  course. 


INTELLIGENCE   AND   CHOICE   OF  CURRICULA     157 

3.  The  dullest  seniors  were  found  in  the  general  course. 

4.  The  courses  showing  the  widest  range  in  intelligence 
were  the  academic,  general,  and  commercial.     The  seniors 
completing  scientific,  classical,  college  preparatory,  and 
vocational  courses  were  much  more  evenly  matched  in 
mental  strength,  i.e.  they  were  bunched  more  about  the 
median.     These  latter  course-groups,  taken  as  a  whole, 
might  then  rank  higher  or  lower  than  our  standard  group. 
The  scientific  and   classical   course-groups   rank  higher 
and  the  college  preparatory  and  vocational  courses,  lower. 

5.  The  courses  which  contained  the  largest  percentage 
of  students  accelerated  and  the  smallest  number  retarded 
by  the  school  were  the  classical,  academic,  and  scientific. 
They  also  contained  the  largest  percentage  of  students 
with  high  average,  superior,  and  very  superior  intelligence. 
The  general,  vocational,  commercial,  and  college  prepar- 
atory courses,  on  the  other  hand,  contained  the  largest 
percentage  of  students  who  had  been  retarded  at  some 
time  during  their  high  school  course  and  the  smallest 
percentage  who  had  been  accelerated  by  the  school.     They 
also  contained  the  smallest  proportion  of  students  possess- 
ing the  higher  grades  of  intelligence  and  a  larger  percent- 
age possessing  the  lowest  grades  of  intelligence. 

6.  The   scientific,   college    preparatory,   and    classical 
courses  send  the  largest  percentage  of  their  students  to 
college ;  the  commercial  and  vocational  courses  the  small- 
est.   The  scientific  course  ranks  highest  in  this  regard,  the 
commercial  course  ranks  lowest. 

7.  Most  of  the  boys  pursuing  a  scientific,  vocational,  or 
college  preparatory  course  and  going  to  college  expect  to 


158    INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

attend  a  technical  college.  What  is  still  more  suggestive 
is  the  fact  that  boys  graduating  from  a  classical  or  aca- 
demic course  also  choose  a  professional  and  technical  col- 
lege more  frequently  than  a  college  of  liberal  arts.  A 
very  large  percentage  of  those  graduating  from  the  gen- 
eral course  are  undecided  in  regard  to  the  college  they  will 
attend. 

8.  Most  girls  select  a  college  of  liberal  arts.  The  largest 
percentage  of  boys  going  to  liberal  arts  colleges  graduated 
from  a  commercial,  college  preparatory,  or  classical  course. 
The  courses  sending  the  largest  percentage  of  girls  to 
liberal  arts  colleges  are  the  college  preparatory,  general, 
scientific,  and  classical. 

It  is,  therefore,  not  so  much  the  course  taken  in  high 
school  that  determines  the  occupation  and  kind  of  college 
chosen  by  high  school  seniors  as  it  is  some  particular  study 
in  that  course  which  appeals  specially  to  their  capacities 
and  interests.  This  will  be  brought  out  more  clearly  in 
the  next  chapter. 


CHAPTER  IX 

DIF- 


SINCE  the  intelligence  tests  were  given  near  the  close  of 
the  senior  year,  after  the  students  had  practically  finished 
their  high  school  course,  an  opportunity  was  provided  to 
ascertain  each  student's  favorite  study  and  to  compare  the 
intelligence  scores  of  those  selecting  different  high  school 
subjects.  To  this  end  each  senior  was  asked  to  name  the 
subject  in  his  entire  high  school  course  which  he  preferred 
or  enjoyed  most.  Our  tabulations  were  then  made  in  such 
a  way  that  the  intelligence  scores  made  by  the  groups 
selecting  different  high  school  subjects  could  be  compared 
with  each  other  and  with  our  state  standard.  The  results 
which  follow  are  from  the  same  group  of  5748  seniors  whose 
records  have  been  used  in  previous  comparisons.  All  of 
this  number  except  191  gave  full  information  on  this  point. 

The  subjects  chosen  by  these  seniors  as  favorite  studies 
were  classified  as  follows :  (1)  Modern  language,  including 
German,  French,  and  Spanish ;  (2)  Latin;  (3)  Mathemat- 
ics, algebra,  geometry,  and  trigonometry;  (4)  General 
science,  including  zoology,  physical  geography,  and  phys- 
iology; (5)  Physics;  (6)  Chemistry;  (7)  History  and 
civics,  including  ancient,  European,  and  American  history ; 
(8)  English  and  literature;  (9)  Commercial  subjects, 

159 


160    INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL   SENIORS 


including  bookkeeping,  typewriting,  and  stenography; 
(10)  Manual  training,  including  mechanical  drawing  and 
all  vocational  shop  courses;  (11)  Agriculture,  including 
all  special  vocational  subjects  in  this  field ;  (12)  Domestic 
science,  including  all  subjects  dealing  with  the  art  and 
science  of  homemaking ;  (13)  Music  and  art,  including 
painting,  free-hand  drawing,  etc. ;  (14)  Debating;  and 
(15)  Gymnastics,  or  physical  training.  Table  XXVII 
shows  the  number  of  seniors  (sexes  combined)  who  se- 
lected each  of  these  subjects  as  their  favorite  study. 

TABLE  XXVII 

NUMBER  OF  STUDENTS  SELECTING  DIFFERENT  HIGH  SCHOOL  SUB- 
JECTS AS  THEIR  FAVORITE  STUDY 


FAVORITE  SUBJECTS 

CASES 

PER  CENT 
OP  TOTAL 
GROUP 

FAVORITE 
SUBJECTS 

CASES 

PER  CENT 
OF  TOTAL 
GROUP 

Mathematics 

1156 

20 

Latin   .     .     . 

196 

3 

English  and  lit 

1119 

19 

Manual  train. 

147 

3 

History  .     . 

683 

12 

Chemistry     . 

144 

3 

Commercial 

561 

10 

Music  and  art 

143 

3 

Science    .     . 

368 

6 

Agriculture    . 

87 

2 

Physics   .     . 

323 

6 

Botany     .     . 

53 

.92 

Dom.  science 

292 

5 

Debating  .     . 

44 

.77 

Language     . 

240 

4 

No  sub.  select. 

192 

3 

1.  General  level  of  intelligence  of  seniors  selecting 
different  studies.  The  records  made  by  the  middle  50 
per  cent  of  the  students  belonging  to  these  various 
groups  are  graphically  shown  in  Figure  43.  The  horizon- 
tal bars  show  the  record  made  by  the  middle  50  per 
cent  preferring  different  subjects.  The  vertical  cross- 


INTELLIGENCE   AND   FAVORITE   STUDY      161 


bars  indicate  the  median  score  for  each  group.  Both 
may  be  easily  compared  with  the  state  standard  shown 
at  the  top  of  the  figure. 

TEST  SCORES 

8O      90        100      IIO       I2O       I3O       140       ISO       IbO       170      ISC 


PERC  ENTILES 


F  E-  E  D 

INTELLIGENCE  GRADES 


75         90     95 
LATIN 


99 


MATHEMATICS 

SCIENCE 

DEBATING 

ENGLISH 

PHYSICS 

CHEMISTRY 

COMMERCIAL  SUBJECTS 

FOREIGN  LANGUAGE 

HISTORY 

AGRICULTURE 

MANUAL  TRAINING 

DOMESTIC  SCIENCE 

BOTANY 


c-    c     c+ 


B 


FIQUBE  43.  —  Scores  made  by  the  middle  50  per  cent  of  seniors  select- 
ing different  high  school  subjects  as  their  favorite  study. 

From  this  figure  it  may  be  seen  that  the  seniors  electing 
various  foreign  language  and  science  subjects  rank  ahead  of 
all  other  groups,  that  those  electing  vocational  subjects 
rank  lowest,  and  that  those  electing  history  and  English 
stand  about  midway  between  the  other  groups.  These 
relative  rankings  are  more  clearly  shown  if  we  compare  the 
various  favorite-study  groups  on  the  basis  of  the  percentage 
belonging  to  each  group  who  make  scores  in  the  mental 
test  above  the  median  for  our  total  or  standard  group. 
The  results  of  this  comparison  are  shown  in  Table  XXVIII. 


162    INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

TABLE  XXVIII 

PERCENTAGE  OF  SENIORS  ELECTING  DIFFERENT  HIGH  SCHOOL  SUB- 
JECTS WHO  MADE  SCORES  ABOVE  THE  STATE  MEDIAN 

Language 59      Debating 50 

Chemistry 57      History 47 

Latin 55      Commercial 45 

Mathematics 54  Manual  training      ....  43 

Science 54  Domestic  science     ....  38 

Physics 52      Agriculture 33 

English 50      Botany 28 

If  we  combine  all  the  language,  all  the  science,  and  all 
the  vocational  subject-groups  and  make  our  comparisons, 
we  get  the  results  shown  in  Table  XXIX. 

TABLE  XXIX 

PERCENTAGE  SELECTING  DIFFERENT  FAVORITE  STUDIES  WHO  MADE 
SCORES  ABOVE  THE  STATE  MEDIAN 

Language 57  Vocational  subjects     ...  42 

Science 54  Music  and  art 42 

English 50  Botany 28 

History 47 

2.  Studies  preferred  by  the  brightest  and  the  dullest 
seniors.  Comparing  the  range  of  the  intelligence  scores 
made  by  the  seniors  belonging  to  the  several  favorite- 
subject  groups  we  get  practically  the  same  results  that 
are  shown  above. 

The  results  of  this  comparison  are  given  in  Table  XXX, 
which  shows  the  percentage  of  seniors  selecting  each  high 
school  subject  who  made  an  intelligence  rating  of  A  or  B 
on  the  tests.  A  mere  glance  at  the  table  will  show 
(1)  that  the  groups  selecting  foreign  language  and  science 
contain  proportionally  more  students  with  very  superior 
(A)  and  superior  (B)  grades  of  intelligence  than  any  other 


INTELLIGENCE   AND   FAVORITE   STUDY      163 


group ;   (2)  that  the  groups  selecting  commercial  and  vo- 
cational subjects  contain  the  smallest  percentage  of  stu- 


Percent 
Z40 


RATED 
AorB 


10 


0 

FAVORITE 
STUDY 


10 


10 


RATED 
D,E  orF 


30 


40 


I9b 


list 


368313 


44 


1119 


683 


Sbl 


53 


87 


LATIN  MATH  jCEN^PHYS.  CHEM.  DEB.     ENC.     HIST.   COM.    MAW   MUSIC    1OI.  ACMC. 


54 


57 


54    51 


50 


143 


50 


45 


33 


18 


FIGURE  44.  —  Percentage  of  seniors  preferring  different  studies  who 
made  the  highest  (A  or  B)  and  the  lowest  (D,  E,  or  F)  intelligence 
ratings  on  the  tests. 


164    INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

dents  who  make  these  intelligence  ratings;  and  (3)  that 
the  groups  electing  history  and  English  stand  about  mid- 
way between.  These  results  are  graphically  shown  in 
Figure  44. 

TABLE  XXX 

PERCENTAGE  OP  STUDENTS  PREFERRING  DIFFERENT  HIGH  SCHOOL 
SUBJECTS  RANKED  A  OR  B 

Language 29  English 22 

Latin 27  History 20 

Mathematics 26  Commercial  subjects   ...  18 

Science 24  Manual  training     ....  14 

Physics 24  Botany 13 

Chemistry 23  Domestic  science    .     .     .     .12 

Debating 22  Agriculture 11 

Combining  all  language,  all  science,  and  all  vocational 
subjects  and  ascertaining  the  number  of  seniors  belonging 
to  each  group  rated  A  or  B,  we  get  the  following :  in  the 
group  electing  a  foreign  language,  28  per  cent  possess  an 
A  or  B  grade  of  intelligence ;  in  the  group  electing  mathe- 
matics or  science,  26  per  cent;  in  English,  22  per  cent; 
in  history,  20  per  cent;  in  vocational  subjects,  15  per 
cent. 

If  we  push  our  comparison  a  step  further  and  note  the 
percentage  preferring  each  high  school  subject  who  are 
rated  A+  or  A,  the  difference  in  favor  of  the  groups  elect- 
ing science  and  language  as  their  favorite  study  in  high 
school  becomes  still  more  marked,  as  may  be  seen  by  a  com- 
parison of  the  figures  in  Table  XXXI. 

The  relative  number  of  seniors  possessing  the  highest 
grade  of  intelligence  is  almost  seven  times  larger  in  the 
group  electing  a  language  than  in  the  group  electing  a  vo- 
cational subject,  and  five  times  as  great  in  the  group 


INTELLIGENCE   AND   FAVORITE   STUDY      165 


electing  a  science  as  in  the  vocational  group.1  There  are 
also  fewer  students  selecting  foreign  language  and  science 
who  make  the  lowest  (E  and  F)  ratings  on  the  tests.  (See 
Table  XXXI.)  It  therefore  appears  that  the  students 
preferring  the  various  foreign  language  and  science  sub- 
jects rank  highest  on  the  intelligence  tests.  The  seniors 
choosing  the  various  vocational  subjects  rank  lowest. 
Those  selecting  English  and  history  rank  about  midway 
between  the  other  groups. 

TABLE  XXXI 

PERCENTAGE  OF  SENIORS  SELECTING  VARIOUS  FAVORITE  SUBJECTS 
MAKING  THE  HIGHEST  AND  LOWEST  INTELLIGENCE  SCORES 


VARIOUS 
FAVORITE 
SUBJECT 
GROUPS 

PER  CENT 
RATED 
A+  OR  A 

PER  CENT 
RATED 
FOR  E~ 

VARIOUS  FAVORITE 
SUBJECT  GROUPS 

PER  CENT 
RATED 
A+  OR  A 

PER  CENT 
RATED 
FOHE- 

Language 

15 

5 

History 

7 

8 

Latin 

11 

6 

Commercial 

5 

4 

Physics 

11 

8 

Manual  training 

3 

6 

Science 

10 

8 

Domestic  science 

2 

9 

Chemistry 

10 

6 

Agriculture 

3 

16 

Mathematics 

9 

5 

Botany 

2 

15 

English 

8 

5 

While  this  is  true  of  the  group  taken  as  a  whole  it  should 
be  pointed  out  that  a  detailed  study  of  the  distribution 
and  frequency  tables  for  these  several  favorite-study 
groups  revealed  the  following  additional  facts  which  seem 
significant : 

1  Some  allowance  must  be  made  for  the  fact  that  our  various  groups 
were  of  unequal  size,  which  makes  these  percentages  more  or  less  un- 
reliable. But  the  differences  shown  seem  to  occui  independently  of  this 
factor,  because  they  occur  where  the  .number  of  cases  are  the  same.  The 
results  are,  therefore,  significant. 


166   INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

1.  The  brightest  boys  selected  mathematics  and  science 
as  their  favorite  study. 

2.  The  brightest  girls  selected  Latin  and  other  foreign 
languages.    The  brightest  boys  never  selected  a  language 
as  their  favorite  study. 

3.  A  few  of  the  most  superior  girls  selected  English, 
music,  art,  or  even  commercial  subjects. 

4.  The  dullest  seniors  (both  boys  and  girls)   selected 
history  and  English. 

5.  Some  students  choosing  mathematics  and  physics 
dropped  very  low  on  the  tests,  while  the  average  for  the 
group  was  relatively  very  high. 

6.  In  the  commercial  and  science  subjects  the  boys  are 
far  superior  to  the  girls.     In  the  language  groups  the  girls 
clearly  outstrip  the  boys.     In  the  groups  selecting  history 
and  English  the  boys  and  girls  are  about  equal  in  mental 
strength. 

3.  Number  of  students  in  each  favorite-subject  group 
ranking  at  the  various  intelligence  levels.  Frequency 
tables  were  prepared,  showing  the  percentage  of  boys  and 
girls  selecting  each  high  school  subject  who  belonged  to 
the  various  intelligence  ranks.  From  these  tables  fre- 
quency curves  were  drawn,  showing  the  proportion  of  boys 
and  girls  belonging  to  each  favorite-subject  group  who 
possess  each  grade  of  intelligence.  All  these  tables  and 
curves  cannot  be  given  in  this  report,  but  Figure  45 
permits  comparison  between  the  seniors  selecting  foreign 
language  as  their  favorite  study  in  high  school  and  the 
group  selecting  botany.  The  figure  shows  the  percentage 
belonging  to  each  group  who  possess  each  grade  of  intelli- 


INTELLIGENCE   AND   FAVORITE   STUDY      167 

gence  from  A+  to  F.  The  marked  superiority  of  the 
students  electing  foreign  language  is  shown  by  the  rise  of 
the  language  curve  above  the  botany  curve  at  all  points 
indicating  the  higher  grades  of  intelligence,  and  its  rapid 
and  regular  descent  below  this  curve  at  all  points  repre- 
senting the  lower  grades  of  mental  ability. 

Percent 
30-, 


20 
15 
IO- 


5- 


-       '        A 
\  /  \'    \ 


LANGUAGE 
BOTANY 


\ 


A+      A          B          C+       C         C-        D          E  E-       F 

INTELLIGENCE  GRADES 

FIGURE  45.  —  Frequency  curves  for  the  seniors  selecting  botany  and 
foreign  language  as  their  favorite  high  school  study.  They  show 
the  percentage  belonging  to  each  group  who  possess  each  grade  of 
intelligence  found  among  high  school  seniors. 

The  curves  drawn  on  this  basis  for  the  various  favorite- 
subject  groups  picture  very  clearly  the  superiority  of  the 
groups  electing  language,  mathematics,  and  science  over 
the  groups  choosing  English,  history,  and  the  various  vo- 
cational subjects.  They  also  show  in  what  this  superiority 


168    INTELLIGENCE    OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

consists,  bringing  out  many  facts  which  cannot  be  pre- 
sented in  detail.  For  example,  some  subject-groups  rank 
high  in  central  tendency  but  possess  few  students  of  supe- 
rior intelligence.  Other  groups  contain  a  large  proportion 
of  individuals  possessing  only  average  ability,  true  espe- 
cially for  the  groups  selecting  manual  training,  commercial 
subjects,  music  and  art.  Other  subject-groups  contain 
few  or  no  students  with  the  highest  grades  of  ability, 
about  the  average  number  with  average  ability,  and  many 
with  the  lower  grades  of  intelligence.  This  is  true  especially 
for  the  botany  group.  Some  groups  contain  seniors  with 
all  grades  of  mental  ability.  For  some  of  these  groups  the 
general  level  of  the  group  was  low  (commercial-subjects 
group)  and  for  others  high  (mathematics  group). 

4.  Sex  differences.  As  already  indicated  some  im- 
portant sex  differences  were  revealed  by  the  above  com- 
parisons. The  brightest  boys  elected  mathematics  and 
science;  the  brightest  girls,  foreign  language.  The 
seniors  selecting  English,  history,  and  the  various  voca- 
tional subjects  showed  little  difference  between  the  sexes, 
i.e.  only  the  normal  amount  shown  throughout  the  study. 

Comparing  the  record  made  by  the  boys  and  girls  elect- 
ing the  same  favorite  studies  on  the  basis  of  central  tend- 
ency, we  get  the  results  pictured  in  Figures  46  and  47. 
Figure  46  shows  the  record  made  by  the  boys  and  girls 
electing  the  same  high  school  studies,  and  as  in  previous 
comparisons  the  horizontal  bars  indicate  the  record  made 
by  the  middle  50  per  cent  of  the  group,  which  may  be 
compared  with  our  state  standard  shown  at  the  top  of 
the  figure.  The  vertical  cross-bars  indicate  the  median 
gcore  for  the  several  groups. 


INTELLIGENCE   AND   FAVORITE   STUDY       169 


Figure  47  shows  the  record  made  by  the  boys  and 
girls  electing   (1)  mathematics,  physics,  and  chemistry; 


TEST  SCORE 

8O       9O        100      IIO       120       130       1+0       ISO       160       I7O 


PERCENTILES  0. 


BOYS 
GIRLS 


90     95  99 

MATHEMATICS 

CHEMISTRY 

PHYSICS 

SCIENCE 

HISTORY 

ENGLISH 

LATIN 

LANGUAGE 

COMMERCIAL  SUWECTS 

MANUAL  TRAINING 

DOMESTIC  SCIENCE" 

MUSIC  Cf\KT 


INTELLIGENCE  GRADES 


FIQUBE  46.  —  Scores  made  by  the  middle  50  per  cent  of  boys  and  girls 
choosing  various  high  school  subjects  as  their  favorite  study. 

(2)  general  science ;  (3)  all  foreign  languages ;  (4)  all  voca- 
tional subjects;  (5)  history  and  civics;  and  (6)  English 
and  literature.  These  comparisons  bring  out  strikingly 
the  marked  superiority  of  the  boys  electing  mathematics 
and  science  and  the  corresponding  superiority  of  the  girls 
electing  foreign  language  subjects.  For  the  groups  choos- 
ing history,  English,  and  various  vocational  studies  the 
boys  show  about  the  same  degree  of  superiority  that  has 
been  found  in  the  various  comparisons  made  throughout 
the  study. 

The  same  trend  is  shown  if  we  compare  the  percentage 
of  boys  and  girls  belonging  to  each  favorite-study  group 


170    INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 


who  made  scores  above  the  state  median.    The  results  of 
this  comparison  are  given  in  Table  XXXII. 

TEST  SCORE 

8O       90        100      HO       I2O       130       1*0       ISO       I6O       170 


PERCENTJLES 


BOYS 
GIRLS 


INTELLIGENCE  GRADES 


VOCATIONAL 
SUBJECTS 


F  E-  I          D         C-    C      C+       B        A          A* 

FIGURE  47.  —  Scores  made  by  the  middle  50  per  cent  of  boys  and  girls 
preferring  certain  groups  of  high  school  subjects. 

TABLE  XXXII 

PER  CENT  OP  BOYS  AND  GIRLS  SELECTING  DIFFERENT  FAVORITE 
STUDIES  SCORING  ABOVE  THE  STATE  MEDIAN 


BOYS 

Debating 63 

Science 60 

Mathematics 59 

Chemistry 62 

Physics 53 

Commercial 50 

Latin 49 

Language 37 

History 50 

English 53 

Manual  training     ....  44 

Botany 38 

Agriculture 26 


GIRLS 

Debating — 

Science 45 

Mathematics 50 

Chemistry 41 

Physics 48 

Commercial 40 

Latin 57 

Language 57 

History 45 

English 50 

Domestic  science    ....  38 

Botany 22 

Agriculture 62 


171 

It  should  also  be  pointed  out  that  these  same  sex  differ- 
ences appear  if  we  compare  these  groups  on  the  basis  of 
range  in  intelligence  scores.  Table  XXXIII  shows  the 
per  cent  of  boys  and  girls  electing  different  subjects  who 
received  the  highest  (A  and  B)  mental  rating  on  the  tests. 
Figure  48  pictures  these  sex  differences  for  representative 
subject-groups. 

TABLE  XXXIII 

PER  CENT  OP  BOYS  AND  GIRLS  ELECTING  DIFFERENT  FAVORITE 
SUBJECTS  RATED  A  OR  B 

Bora  GIRLS 

Debating 38  Debating — 

Latin 36  Latin 26 

Mathematics 28  Mathematics 24 

English 28  English 21 

Chemistry 26  Chemistry 10 

Commercial 25  Commercial 15 

Physics 24  Physics 25 

History 21  History 19 

Language 21  Language 29 

Manual  training     ....  14  Domestic  science    .     .     .     .11 

Botany 14  Botany 13 

Agriculture 7  Agriculture 29 

In  such  studies  as  mathematics,  science,  chemistry, 
commercial  subjects,  language,  and  agriculture,  there  is  a 
marked  difference  in  the  intelligence  of  the  sexes  choosing 
the  same  subject.  For  the  agricultural  and  language 
groups  the  girls  are  ahead,  and  for  the  other  subjects  the 
boys  make  the  best  intelligence  rating.  The  seniors  elect- 
ing, history,  English,  and  the  various  vocational  subjects 
are  more  uniform  in  mental  strength.  That  is  to  say, 
the  difference  between  the  sexes  here  corresponds  more 
closely  to  the  degree  of  superiority  that  has  been  shown 
by  the  boys  throughout  this  study. 


172     INTELLIGENCE    OF   HIGH   SCHOOL   SENIORS 


Figures  49  compares  the  boys  and  girls  electing  science 
as  their  favorite  high  school  subject,  on  the  basis  of  the 
per  cent  in  the  group  possessing  each  grade  of  intelligence 
from  A+  to  F.  Similar  curves  were  drawn  for  the  group 
electing  each  high  school  subject.  For  some  subjects, 
such  as  history,  the  curves  for  the  sexes  are  practically 
parallel  throughout  their  course.  In  other  subjects  the 
boys  selecting  the  study  rate  distinctly  higher  than  the 

Percent 


OOMPARED         MATHEMATICS     SCIENCE         CHEMISTIW    C<su"jECTSL     LANGUAGE    AGRICULTURE    HISTORY 
0  ~~ 


15- 


RATED 
O.EorF 


30- 


II 


I 


BOYS 
GIRLS 


FIGURE  48.  —  Per  cent  of  boys  and  girls  preferring  different  high  school 
studies  who  were  rated  Ajjr  B  and  D,  E,  or  F  on  the  tests. 

girls  at  every  level  of  ability.  For  some  subject-groups, 
such  as  foreign  language  and  agriculture,  the  girls  rank 
consistently  higher  than  the  boys.  For  other  subjects  the 
curves  are  broken.  In  English,  for  example,  the  curve 
for  the  boys  rises  above  the  curve  for  the  girls  at  the  points 
indicating  the  higher  (A  and  B)  grades  of  ability.  At  the 


INTELLIGENCE   AND   FAVORITE   STUDY      173 

points  indicating  all  other  grades  of  intelligence  the  curves 
run  practically  parallel,  showing  that  this  group  has  more 
boys  of  superior  intelligence  than  girls,  but  contains  just 
as  large  a  proportion  of  boys  as  girls  possessing  average 
and  the  various  grades  of  inferior  mental  ability. 

Percent 
30 


75 


20- 


15- 


10- 


5- 


/' 


/ 


\ 


/  BOYS 

GIRLS 


A+      A          B         C+       C         C-       D          E          E-       F 

INTELLIGENCE  GRADES 

FIGURE  49.  —  Frequency  curves  for  the  boys  and  girls  choosing  science 
as  their  favorite  high  school  study.  They  show  the  percentage  of 
those  who  possess  each  grade  of  intelligence  found  among  high 
school  seniors. 


The  outstanding  facts  revealed  by  this  comparison  of 
the  sexes  are  the  following : 

1.  The  brightest  boys  show  a  decided  preference  for 
mathematics  and  science;  the  brightest  girls  for  foreign 
language. 


174    INTELLIGENCE    OF   HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

2.  More  boys  (26  per  cent)  prefer  mathematics  than 
any  other  subject,  the  largest  percentage  of  girls  (28  per 
cent)  prefer  English  and  literature. 

3.  More  than  half  of  the  seniors  taking  the  tests  came 
from  the  rural  districts  of  the  state.     Notwithstanding 
this  fact,  only  3  per  cent  of  the  boys  selected  agriculture 
as  their  favorite  study  in  high  school,  and  these  made  the 
lowest  intelligence  rating  on  the  tests  made  by  any  seniors. 
Only  5  per  cent  of  the  girls  selected  domestic  science  as 
their  favorite  study,  while  more  than  12  per  cent  of  the 
girls  selected  commercial  subjects.    The  results  suggest 
that  the  high  schools  of  the  state  are  educating  the  boys 
and  girls  away  from  the  home  and  farm. 

4.  The  boys  electing  commercial  subjects  made  rela- 
tively high  intelligence  ratings  on  the  tests,  while  the  girls 
selecting  the  same  subjects  made  low  ratings.  This  sug- 
gests that  the  boys  are  taking  the  commercial  courses  in 
preparation  for  business,  while  the  girls  take  them  in  order 
to  become  stenographers.    This  is  further  indicated  by 
the  fact  that  64  per  cent  of  the  boys  selecting  commercial 
subjects  stated  that  they  were  going  to  college,  as  compared 
with  only  22  per  cent  of  the  girls  selecting  the  same  sub- 
jects. 

5.  Effect  of  favorite  study  upon  the  choice  of  an  oc- 
cupation.   We  also  desired  to  determine  the  effect  of  the 
favorite  high  school  subject  upon  the  choice  of  a  voca- 
tion in  life.    The  results  of  this  comparison  for  the  boys 
are  given  in  Table  XXXIV.     It  shows  the  per  cent  of 
boys  selecting  particular  occupations  who  chose  different 
high  school  subjects. 


INTELLIGENCE  AND   FAVORITE   STUDY      175 

TABLE  XXXIV 

PERCENTAGE  OF  BOYS  CHOOSING  PARTICULAR  OCCUPATIONS  WHO 
SELECTED  DIFFERENT  FAVORITE  STUDIES 


OCCUPATIONS 

FAVORITE 

^ 

0 

-   -r. 

<  H 

STUDY 

1 

.1 

!§ 

k 

1 

1 

b 
6 

.s 
~5 

1 

.a 

a 

.2 

ej 

1 

H  5 
o  «! 
HO 

*M 

7- 

>> 

f 

a 

g 

js 

§ 

o 

a> 

'g 

1 

« 

.= 
ft. 

OJ 

H) 

& 

ji 

o 

1-5 

S 

-a 
O 

1 

§ 

Math.  .  .  . 

37.3 

24.2 

10.4 

11.8 

39.4 

25.9 



24.2 

21.7 

25.0 

18.8 

373 

History  .  . 

6.1 

14.9 

16.7 

45.6 

25.4 

14.2 

12.5 

22.9 

6.5 

12.5 

18.8 

204 

Physics  .  . 

23.2 

6.2 

15.6 

11.5 

7.1 

12.6 

— 

8.5 

17.4 



6.3 

192 

Science    .  . 

11.7 

13.0 

25.0 

5.9 

7.0 

6.0 

6.3 

15.0 

8.7 

25.0 



158 

English  .  . 

1.6 

9.8 

6.3 

14.7 

5.4 

8.2 

50.0 

5.2 

2.2 

12.5 

31.3 

92 

Vocational 

subjects  . 

6.7 

1.9 

1.0 

1.5 

2.8 

5.7 

6.3 

11.1 







80 

Com'l  .  .  . 

2.3 

21.7 

5.2 

2.9 

1.4 

4.4 



5.2 



12.5 

6.3 

76 

Chemistry 

7.3 

3.1 

13.5 

.0 

1.4 

.9 



2.6 

41.3 

12.5 

18.8 

80 

Latin   .  .  . 

.9 

2.5 

5.2 

5.9 

5.6 

2.2 

12.5 

2.6 

2.2 





35 

Agri.  and  . 

hot.     .  . 

.5 

1.9 

1.0 

0.0 

4.2 

18.6 

6.3 

2.6 







73 

Debating  . 

.2 

0.0 

0.0 

10.3 

0.0 

.3 











9 

Music     .  . 



.6 







1.3 

6.3 









6 

Total  cases 

426 

161 

96 

68 

71 

317 

16 

153 

46 

8 

16 

1378 

An  inspection  of  this  table  shows  that  there  is 
a  close  relation  between  the  occupation  selected  and  a 
student's  favorite  study.  While  there  are  some  signs  of 
aimless  choosing,  it  will  be  noted  that  the  subjects  chosen 
prepare  in  the  main  for  the  life  occupations  selected.  For 
example,  the  favorite  studies  of  the  majority  of  the  426 
boys  who  had  decided  to  become  mechanical,  electrical, 
civil,  mining,  and  chemical  engineers  were  mathematics, 
physics,  and  science ;  of  the  group  who  had  decided  upon 
a  business  career :  mathematics,  commercial  subjects, 


176    INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

history,  and  science ;  for  the  physician  group  the  favorite 
studies  were  science,  history,  physics,  and  chemistry ;  for 
the  lawyer  group  :  history,  English,  and  debating ;  for  the 
farmers:  mathematics,  agriculture,  history,  and  physics; 
for  the  journalists  :  English,  foreign  language,  and  history ; 
for  the  skilled  mechanics :  mathematics,  history,  and  vo- 
cational subjects ;  for  chemists :  chemistry,  mathematics, 
and  physics ;  for  scientists :  science  and  mathematics ; 
and  for  ministers:  English,  mathematics,  history,  and 
chemistry. 

Our  results  show  that  the  subjects  to  which  the  students 
are  introduced  in  high  school,  especially  those  that  appeal 
to  their  native  capacities  and  interests,  have  a  marked  and 
determining  influence  upon  their  vocational  choice.  This 
argues  strongly  in  favor  of  having  considerable  pre- 
vocational  or  try-out  work  in  the  early  part  of  a  boy's 
high  school  course. 

6.  Influence  of  favorite  study  upon  college  intention. 
We  desired  to  know  also  what  relation  existed  between 
the  special  interests  that  our  seniors  expressed  in  certain 
high  school  studies  and  their  desire  to  go  to  college.  Were 
the  students  preferring  certain  high  school  studies  more 
likely  to  go  to  college  than  students  preferring  other  sub- 
jects? What  were  the  favorite  studies  of  the  students 
going  to  college  in  the  largest  numbers  and  of  those  who 
did  not  expect  to  attend  ? 

Table  XXXV  suggests  answers  to  these  questions  as 
follows : 

1.  The  girls  preferring  foreign  language,  English,  and 
history  are  going  to  college  in  the  greatest  numbers.  Those 


INTELLIGENCE  AND   FAVORITE   STUDY       177 


TABLE  XXXV 

PERCENTAGE  OF  BOYS  AND  GIRLS  SELECTING  DIFFERENT  FAVORITE 
STUDIES  WHO  WILL  ATTEND  COLLEGE 


WILL  ATTEND 

FAVORITE  STUDY 
IN  HIGH  SCHOOL, 

WILL 
ATTEND 
COLLEGE 

COLLEGE 
UNDE- 
CIDED 

WILL 
Nor 
ATTEND 
COLLEGE 

TOTAL 
CASES 

IN 

GROUP 

College 
Liberal 

Arts 

Technical 
School 

Debating   .  . 

93 

6 

BOYS 
19 

68 

7 

16 

Latin    .... 

78 

27 

32 

19 

22 

37 

Science    .  .  . 

87 

11 

39 

37 

13 

237 

Mathematics 

80 

12 

39 

29 

20 

604 

English   .  .  . 

81 

33 

17 

31 

19 

149 

Chemistry  .  . 

84 

10 

62 

12 

16 

115 

Com'l  subj.  . 

64 

19 

17 

28 

36 

139 

Physics  .  .  . 

77 

7 

49 

21 

23 

299 

History  .  .  . 

76 

20 

28 

28 

24 

325 

Language   .  . 

79 

16 

32 

31 

21 

19 

Manual  tr.    . 

66 

6 

28 

32 

34 

147 

Botany    .  .  . 

67 

10 

29 

28 

33 

21 

Music  and  art 

75 

35 

10 

30 

25 

20 

Agriculture   . 

58 

9 

29 

20 

42 

70 

No  favorite  . 

60 

9 

19 

32 

40 

107 

GIRLS 

Agriculture   . 

36 

24 

— 

12 

64 

17 

Language  .  . 

63 

43 

2 

18 

37 

221 

Latin    .... 

67 

45 

1 

21 

33 

157 

Physics  .  .  . 

75 

42 

— 

33 

25 

24 

Mathematics 

61 

39 

1 

21 

39 

552 

English   .  .  . 

66 

47 

1 

18 

34 

970 

History  .  .  . 

67 

50 

1 

16 

33 

359 

Science    .  .  . 

57 

37 

7 

13 

43 

131 

Commercial  . 

22 

10 

1 

11 

78 

423 

Music  and  art 

53 

31 

2 

20 

47 

123 

Gymnastics  . 

61 

39 

4 

18 

39 

28 

Dom.  sci. 

53 

31 

4 

18 

47 

292 

Botany    .  .  . 

59 

47 

3 

9 

41 

32 

No  favorite  . 

52 

34 

5 

13 

48 

88 

178    INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

electing  domestic  science,  music  and  art,  agriculture,  and 
science  are  least  likely  to  go. 

2.  The  boys  whose  favorite  subjects  are  mathematics, 
science,  and  language  are  going  to  college  in  greater  num- 
bers than  those   electing   agriculture,   manual   training, 
botany,  and  commercial  subjects. 

3.  The  largest  percentage  of  boys  from  practically  every 
group  have  decided  to  go  to  a  professional  or  technical 
school.     Most  of  the  girls  are  going  to  colleges  of  liberal 
arts. 

4.  The  boys  selecting  mathematics,  science,  chemistry, 
physics,  agriculture,  and  manual  training  are  going  to  a 
technical   or   professional    college    in    largest    numbers. 
Many  electing  English,  history,  Latin,  commercial  sub- 
jects, music  and  art  are  going  to  colleges  of  liberal  arts. 
The  latter  groups  also  contain  the  largest  percentage  of 
students  who  were  undecided  in  regard  to   the   college 
they  expected  to  attend. 

7.  General  resume  of  results.  1.  If  the  sexes  are 
combined  and  the  groups  selecting  different  favorite  sub- 
jects are  considered  as  units,  foreign  language,  mathe- 
matics, and  science  subjects  are  regularly  preferred  by 
the  brightest  seniors  in  the  state.  The  vocational  sub- 
jects are  regularly  chosen  by  the  dullest.  English  and 
history  occupy  a  position  about  midway  between  the 
language  and  science  groups  on  the  one  hand  and  the 
vocational  groups  on  the  other.  These  conditions  hold 
whether  we  make  our  comparisons  on  the  basis  of 
central  tendency  or  on  the  basis  of  the  percentage  belong- 
ing to  each  group  who  make  the  highest  mental  rating  on 


INTELLIGENCE   AND   FAVORITE   STUDY      179 

the  tests.  Of  those  selecting  language  57  per  cent  made 
scores  above  the  state  median ;  of  those  electing  science, 
55  per  cent ;  English,  50  per  cent ;  history,  47  per  cent ; 
vocational  subjects,  42  per  cent.  Comparing  these  several 
groups  on  the  basis  of  the  range  of  intelligence  possessed 
by  the  members  of  each  group,  we  find  that  28  per  cent  of 
those  electing  foreign  language  made  an  intelligence  grade 
of  A  or  B.  Of  those  electing  science  or  mathematics  26 
per  cent  were  rated  A  or  B  ;  English,  22  per  cent ;  history, 
20  per  cent ;  vocational  subjects,  15  per  cent.  If  we  com- 
pare those  rated  A+  or  A,  we  find  that  about  seven  times 
as  many  students  electing  language  or  science  belong 
to  these  superior  intelligence  groups  as  were  found  among 
the  groups  electing  vocational  subjects. 

2.  The  students  making  the  highest  intelligence  scores 
(chiefly  boys)  selected  mathematics  and  science  as  their     \/ 
favorite  study  in  high  school.     The  most  superior  boys 
never  selected  a  language  as  their  favorite  study.     The 
brightest  girls  selected  a  foreign  language  as  their  favorite 
study  in  high  school. 

3.  A  few  of  the  brightest  seniors  in  the  state  selected 
English,  music,  or  art  (girls),  and  manual  training  and 
commercial  subjects  (boys). 

4.  Taken  as  a  whole,  comparatively  few  seniors  selected 
foreign  language  as  their  favorite  study  —  less  than  3  per 
cent  of  the  boys  (2.51  per  cent)  and  only  about  11  per  cent 
of  the  girls  (10.98  per  cent).     More  boys  preferred  mathe- 
matics (26  per  cent)  than  any  other  subject.     The  largest 
percentage  of  girls  selected  English  as  their  favorite  study 
in  high  school. 


180    INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL   SENIORS 

5.  Few  boys  (3  per  cent)   selected  agriculture   and 
only  5  per  cent  of  the  girls  selected  domestic  science, 
while  12.29  per  cent  selected  commercial  subjects.    More 
than  half  of  our  seniors  came  from  the  rural  and  agri- 
cultural districts  of  the  state. 

6.  There  is  a  marked  difference  in  the  mental  strength 
of  the  boys  and  girls  selecting  the  same  favorite  subject. 
The  boys  selecting  mathematics,  chemistry,  commercial 
subjects,  and  general  science  are  far  superior  in  general 
intelligence  to  the  girls  selecting  the  same  subjects.     In 
the  foreign  language  and  agricultural  groups  the  girls  are 
superior  to  the  boys.    The  boys  and  girls  selecting  history, 
English,  and  the  various  vocational  subjects  are  about 
equal  in  mental  strength. 

7.  That  a  senior's  favorite  high  school  study  has  some 
effect  in  determining  his  choice  of  a  vocation  is  shown  by 
the  fact  that  the  subjects  chosen  as  favorite  studies  pre- 
pare more  or  less  directly  for  the  occupations  selected. 
This  points  to  the  importance  of  introducing  high  school 
students  to  a  rather  varied  field  of  work  in  the  early  part 
of  their  high  school  course  in  order  to  ascertain  their  vo- 
cational capacities  and  interests. 

8.  Because  of  the  influence  of  the  favorite  study  on 
vocational  choice  and  its  relation  to  the  type  of  work  done 
in  college,  the  student's  favorite  study  in  high  school 
seems  to  influence  his  college  intention  and  his  selection 
of  a  college  course.    The  girls  who  prefer  language,  Eng- 
lish, and  history  are  going  to  college  in  the  greatest  num- 
bers and  they  are  going  to  colleges  of  liberal  arts.     Those 
electing  domestic  science,  music  and  art,  agriculture,  and 


INTELLIGENCE   AND   FAVORITE   STUDY      181 

general  science  are  least  likely  to  go  to  college.  The  boys 
whose  favorite  subjects  are  mathematics,  science,  and 
foreign  language  are  going  to  college  in  greater  numbers 
than  those  electing  agriculture,  manual  training,  botany, 
and  commercial  subjects.  The  former  also  select  pro- 
fessional or  technical  schools.  Most  of  the  boys  going  to 
colleges  of  liberal  arts  select  English,  history,  Latin, 
commercial  subjects,  music  and  art.  These  favorite- 
subject  groups  also  contain  most  of  the  boys  who  had  not 
decided  what  college  they  would  attend. 

8.  Discussion  of  results.  Some  of  the  educational 
implications  of  these  facts  should  be  briefly  pointed 
out.  The  fact  that  the  brightest  students  select  mathe- 
matics, science,  or  language  as  their  favorite  studies 
and  that  students  selecting  vocational  subjects  rank 
lowest  in  the  mental  tests  may  be  interpreted  in  a 
number  of  ways.  It  may  mean  that  the  brightest  and 
most  ambitious  students  in  high  school  have  been 
directed  by  parents  and  teachers  into  the  courses  which 
feature  these  traditional  subjects.  In  other  words,  it  is 
fashionable  for  the  best  students  to  take  the  academic, 
classical,  or  scientific  courses,  while  the  duller  students 
may  naturally  drift  into  a  vocational  course ;  or  they  may 
try  the  academic  courses  without  success  and  be  forced 
into  the  others.  It  may  also  be  true  that  the  brighter 
students  are  more  consistently  bent  upon  going  into  the 
professions,  because  of  their  home  environment,  or  the 
advice  of  their  associates,  and  so  are  urged  to  take  a  course 
in  high  school  which  gives  the  traditional  preparation  for 
these  so-called  learned  professions  and  for  a  college  course. 


182    INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

The  fact  that  students  are  going  to  our  high  schools  and 
colleges  in  ever  increasing  numbers  and  that  a  senior's 
choice  of  a  favorite  study  in  high  school  seems  to  have 
such  a  marked  influence  upon  his  choice  of  an  occupation 
and  his  college  intention,  may  well  make  us  question 
whether  the  high  school,  as  it  is  now  organized  and  con- 
ducted, adequately  meets  the  vocational  inclinations  and 
needs  of  all  of  its  students. 

The  fact  that  the  brightest  seniors  in  the  state  were 
boys,  that  these  brightest  boys  select  mathematics  and 
science  as  their  favorite  study  in  high  school,  and  that  a 
larger  percentage  of  boys  select  mathematics  than  any  other 
study,  while  the  brightest  girls  select  foreign  language  as 
their  favorite  study  (five  times  as  many  girls  selecting 
foreign  language  as  boys),  and  that  the  largest  percentage 
of  girls  select  English  and  literature  as  their  favorite 
study — all  point  in  the  direction  of  fundamental  sex  differ- 
ences that  are  doubtless  significant.  If  taken  in  conjunc- 
tion with  the  facts  revealed  in  Chapter  V  showing  the 
grades  of  intelligence  possessed  by  the  seniors  which  the 
school  actually  accelerates  and  retards,  it  points  clearly  to 
the  need  for  a  better  adaptation  of  the  instruction  of  the 
high  school  to  the  interests,  mental  capacities,  and  needs 
of  the  boys.  There  is  much  evidence  in  this  study  that 
the  high  schools  do  not  meet  the  needs  of  the  boys  as  well 
as  the  needs  of  the  girls.  This  may  help  to  explain  why 
the  girls  attend  them  in  ever  increasing  numbers  and  out- 
strip the  boys  in  application  to  the  work  and  in  securing 
successful  school  marks. 

The  fact  that  the  various  subjects  which  the  student 


INTELLIGENCE   AND   FAVORITE    STUDY      183 

studies  in  high  school,  particularly  the  study  which  he 
most  enjoys,  has  so  much  to  do  with  his  choice  of  an  oc- 
cupation and  helps  to  determine  whether  or  not  he  will  go 
to  college  as  well  as  his  selection  of  a  college  points  pretty 
conclusively  either  to  a  need  for  pre vocational  work  in 
the  early  part  of  the  high  school  course,  or  to  a  change  in 
the  nature  of  the  work  given,  so  that  each  student  would 
be  able  to  "find  himself,"  as  it  were  vocationally,  by 
coming  into  contact  with  several  representative  lines  of 
work.  When  considered  in  connection  with  the  facts  re- 
vealed in  Chapter  VII,  which  show  how  few  lines  of  work 
were  chosen  by  this  large  group  of  high  school  seniors,  we 
must  conclude  that  if  our  facts  have  any  significance  at 
all  they  mean  that  the  high  schools  are  not  adequately 
meeting  the  needs  of  the  heterogeneous  group  of  young 
people  who  now  attend  them.  They  are  unintentionally 
piloting  these  young  people  towards  a  few  lines  of  work  and 
are  not  providing  the  means  either  to  help  them  find  the 
work  in  life  for  which  they  have  special  mental  capacity, 
or  to  prepare  for  it. 

It  is  also  significant  that  only  3  per  cent  of  the  boys 
elected  agriculture  as  their  favorite  study  in  high  school 
and  only  5  per  cent  of  the  girls  selected  domestic  science, 
while  more  than  12  per  cent  of  the  girls  selected  commer- 
cial subjects.  When  we  consider  that  more  than  half  of 
our  total  group  of  seniors  come  from  the  rural  and  agri- 
cultural districts  of  the  state  these  facts  seem  particularly 
significant  and  should  at  least  make  us  raise  the  question 
whether  the  high  schools  as  now  organized  and  conducted 
are  not  in  fact  educating  our  boys  and  girls  away  from 


184    INTELLIGENCE   OP  HIGH  SCHOOL  SENIORS 

the  home  and  farm  instead  of  preparing  them  on  a  high 
plane  for  these  important  kinds  of  work.  We  should  ask 
whether  the  courses  of  study  in  the  rural  high  schools 
of  the  state  contain  what  these  pupils  really  need  and 
should  be  taught. 

The  results  of  this  section  give  a  new  social  significance 
to  the  high  school  curriculum  and  indicate  the  direction 
in  which  we  must  look  to  make  the  needed  readjustments. 


CHAPTER  X 

INTELLIGENCE  OF  HIGH  SCHOOL  SENIORS  REPRE- 
SENTING DIFFERENT  OCCUPATIONAL  CLASSES 

IN  most  civilized  countries  various  types  of  secondary 
schools  have  developed  to  meet  the  needs  of  different 
social  and  occupational  classes.  The  English  public 
school,  the  Lycee  of  France,  and  the  Gymnasium,  Real- 
Gymnasium,  and  Real-Schule  in  Germany  are  examples. 
In  America  a  single  system  of  public  schools,  extending 
from  the  kindergarten  and  elementary  schools  through  the 
high  school  to  the  state  university,  has  been  developed 
for  our  entire  population.  Social  and  economic  barriers 
have  been  broken  down.  The  American  high  school  is,  in 
theory  at  least,  the  people's  school,  organized  and  con- 
ducted to  meet  the  needs  of  all  social  and  occupational 
classes.  This  being  the  case,  we  desired  to  discover 
(1)  whether  all  occupational  and  economic  classes  were 
actually  represented  in  the  graduating  classes  of  Indiana 
high  schools ;  (2)  whether  the  number  of  seniors  belonging 
to  each  occupational  class  was  about  in  the  proportion 
that  the  relative  size  of  the  various  occupational  groups 
in  the  state  would  lead  us  to  expect;  in  other  words, 
whether  each  occupational  group  had  its  full  quota  of 
students  in  the  high  school  or  whether  the  high  schools 
were  being  patronized  more  by  certain  occupational  or 

185 


186    INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

social  classes  than  by  others ;  (3)  whether  there  are  any 
inequalities  in  intelligence  between  the  seniors  coming 
from  these  several  occupational  and  economic  classes. 

In  order  to  obtain  the  facts  needed  to  make  such  com- 
parisons each  senior  was  asked  to  give  his  father's  occu- 
pation and  annual  salary.  In  case  either  of  these  items 
could  not  be  accurately  specified  by  the  pupil,  the  in- 
formation was  obtained  and  recorded  by  the  teacher 
giving  the  examination,  and  this  fact  noted  in  her  final 
report  to  us.  In  every  case  the  teacher  or  principal  giving 
the  examination  was  asked  to  verify  these  items.  Tabu- 
lations were  then  made  in  such  a  way  that  the  intelligence 
scores  made  by  the  seniors  coming  from  each  occupational 
class  might  be  compared  with  one  another  and  with  the 
state  standard.  The  intelligence  scores  of  the  students 
belonging  to  various  economic  groups  were  also  determined 
and  compared  with  each  other  and  with  our  state  standard. 
The  results  of  this  latter  comparison  will  be  presented  in 
the  following  chapter. 

1.  Occupational  groups  represented  in  the  senior 
classes  of  Indiana  high  schools.  The  occupations  of 
parents  reported  by  the  seniors  taking  the  tests  were 
classified  into  the  following  seven  groups : 

1.  Professional,  including  teachers,  physicians  and  sur- 
geons, musicians  and  teachers  of  music,  clergymen,  law- 
yers, judges,  dentists,  editors,  civil  and  electrical  engineers, 
architects,  etc. 

2.  Clerical  workers,  including  bookkeepers,  cashiers,  ac- 
countants, stenographers,  typists,  shipping  clerks,  secre- 
taries, collectors,  etc. 


INTELLIGENCE   AND   FATHER'S   OCCUPATION     187 

3.  Salesmen  and  clerks,  including  clerks  and  salesmen 
in  stores,  retail  dealers,  commercial  travelers,  brokers  and 
agents,  deliverymen,  lumber  and  coal  yard  employees,  etc. 

4.  Skilled  artisans,  including  all  skilled  workers  in  the 
various  trades,   such  as   carpenters,  painters,  plumbers, 
machinists,  blacksmiths,  stonecutters,  bakers,  typesetters, 
engravers,  and  jewelers. 

5.  Business    executives    and   foremen,    including    all 
executives  and  managers  in  the  various  manufacturing 
and  trade  pursuits. 

6.  Day  laborers,  all  semi-skilled  laborers  in  the  va- 
rious manufacturing  and  trade  pursuits,  including  farm 
laborers. 

7.  Farmers,  all  persons  engaged  in'  general   farming, 
gardening,  or  stock  raising  on  a  productive  or  managerial 
basis. 

2.  Number  of  high  school  seniors  belonging  to  each 
occupational  class.  Ninety-one  per  cent  of  all  seniors 
taking  the  tests  gave  information  sufficiently  definite 
and  accurate  concerning  the  occupation  of  their  father  to 
be  of  use  in  the  comparisons  of  this  section.  The  loss  of 
the  9  per  cent  was  due  to  the  fact  that  many  whose 
fathers  were  dead  merely  mentioned  this  fact  without 
naming  his  former  occupation ;  others  answered  the  ques- 
tion too  vaguely  for  the  results  to  be  of  value.  A  few 
teachers  failed  to  verify  or  to  supply  the  missing  data  on 
this  point.  The  5249  individuals  who  furnished  reliable 
information  concerning  the  occupation  of  their  fathers 
were  distributed  among  these  various  occupational  groups 
as  shown  in  Table  XXXVI. 


188     INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 


TABLE  XXXVI 

NUMBER  OF  HIGH  SCHOOL  SENIORS  BELONGING  TO  EACH  OCCUPA- 
TIONAL CLASS 


OCCUPATIONS  REPRE- 
SENTED IN  HIGH  SCHOOL 

PROFES- 
SIONAL 

CLERI- 
CAL 

SALES- 
MEN 

ARTI- 
SANS 

EXECU- 
TIVES 

LABOR- 
ERS 

FARMERS 

Total  cases  report- 

ing . 

317 

211 

325 

946 

998 

489 

1963 

Per  cent   

6.04 

4.82 

6.19 

18.02 

19.01 

9.32 

37.40 

Per   cent  of    total 

workers  in   state 

belonging  to  each 

occupational  class 

5.78 

3.70 

5.11 

19.04 

9.49 

23.77 

33.20 

The  table  shows  the  percentage  of  the  total  population 
of  the  state  engaged  in  remunerative  or  productive  work 
who  belong  to  these  several  occupational  groups.1 

From  a  comparison  of  the  figures  presented  in  this 
table  it  will  be  seen  that  the  percentage  of  seniors  whose 
parents  belong  to  each  of  these  occupational  groups  cor- 
responds roughly  to  the  number  of  persons  actually  en- 
gaged in  these  occupations  in  the  state  for  the  following 
occupational  groups :  professional,  clerical  workers,  sales- 
men and  clerks,  and  artisans.  The  business  executive 
group  is  twice  as  large  as  we  should  expect.  The  day 
laborer  group  had  only  about  one-third  its  normal  quota 
of  students  in  last  year's  senior  classes.  Aside  from  these 
two  occupational  groups  the  parallel  is  rather  close,  sug- 
gesting that  Indiana  high  schools  are  succeeding  very 
largely  in  their  democratic  appeal  to  all  social  and  oc- 

1  Figures  for  obtaining  the  per  cent  of  workers  in  the  state  who  belong 
to  thte  various  occupational  groups  represented  in  the  high  school  were 
computed  from  the  U.  S.  Census  report  for  1910. 


INTELLIGENCE   AND   FATHER'S   OCCUPATION     189 

cupational  groups  represented  in  the  state.  The  children 
from  all  classes  do  attend  the  high  schools  of  the  state  and 
do  graduate,  but  not  in  the  right  proportions.  Parents 
belonging  to  the  professional,  clerical,  and  salesmen  groups 
seem  to  have  about  their  proper  quota  of  graduates. 
Farmers  and  business  executives  seem  to  have  more  than 
their  quota.  The  skilled  artisan  and  day  laborer  groups 
seem  to  have  less  than  their  normal  quota. 

3.  Intelligence  of  seniors  belonging  to  each  occu- 
pational class.  But  a  matter  of  greater  interest  and  im- 
portance than  the  proportion  of  seniors  belonging  to  each 
occupational  group  is  the  general  level  of  intelligence  of 
the  seniors  coming  from  these  different  occupational  classes. 
It  has  been  assumed  by  many  economists  that  there  is  a 
direct  relation  between  the  native  mental  endowment  of  in- 
dividuals and  their  occupational  or  economic  status  in  the 
community ;  that  different  occupational  classes  represent, 
in  a  sense,  fundamental  differences  in  native  mental 
ability  which  in  diverse  ways  have  determined  their  occu- 
pational selection  and  economic  status.1  In  fact  so  deep 
rooted  is  this  belief  that  one  of  the  criteria  used  by  social 
workers  for  detecting  feeblemindedness  in  an  individual  is 
his  economic  status  and  occupational  success. 

We  wished,  therefore,  to  determine  (1)  the  general 
level  of  intelligence  of  the  seniors  coming  from  each  occu- 
pational group ;  (2)  the  range  of  intelligence  or  grades  of 
native  mental  ability  which  each  of  these  groups  actually 
possessed;  and  (3)  the  relative  frequency  within  each 

1  Compare  on  this  point  Army  Mental  Tests,  Washington,  D.  C.,  No- 
vember 22,  1918,  p.  23. 


190     INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

group  of  the  various  grades  of  intelligence  found  among  high 
school  seniors.  If,  for  example,  it  should  be  found  that 
each  occupational  group  had  about  the  same  percentage  of 
students  making  the  highest  intelligence  scores  obtained  by 
high  school  seniors,  this  fact  would  have  far-reaching  social 
and  educational  significance.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  our 
results  should  show  marked  differences  between  the  general 
levels  of  mental  ability  possessed  by  different  occupational 
groups,  this  fact  would  be  theoretically  and  practically 
significant. 

(a)  General  level  of  intelligence  of  the  seniors  representing 
different  occupational  classes.  The  mental  tests  given  in 
the  army  revealed  great  differences  between  the  scores 
made  by  the  men  belonging  to  different  occupational 
groups.  Of  the  36,500  cases  grouped  by  occupations  in 
a  recently  published  report,  the  farmers  and  day  laborers 
ranked  very  low  on  the  mental  tests.  The  medical  and  engi- 
neering officers,  stenographers,  and  ministers,  on  the  other 
hand,  ranked  high. 

In  a  study  from  the  Psychological  Laboratory  of  Indiana 
University,  wide  divergences  were  found  between  the 
intelligence  scores  made  by  children  whose  fathers  belonged 
to  different  occupational  classes.1  Children  whose  parents 
belong  to  the  professional  class  make  much  higher  scores 
on  the  intelligence  tests  than  do  the  children  of  parents 
belonging  to  the  artisan  or  day  laborer  classes.  The  per- 
centages of  children  representing  various  occupations  who 
made  scores  above  the  median  for  the  total  group  tested 

JS.  L.  Pressey  and  Ruth  Ralston,  "The  Relation  of  Occupation  to 
Intelligence  as  It  Appears  in  the  School  Children  of  a  Community," 
Journal  of  Applied  Psychology,  December,  1919,  pp.  368-374. 


INTELLIGENCE  AND   FATHER'S   OCCUPATION     191 

were  as  follows:  professional  85,  business  and  industrial 
executives  68,  skilled  tradesmen  41,  day  laborers  39. 
These  figures  were  obtained  from  all  children  10  to  14 
years  of  age  in  a  community  where  school  attendance  was 
compulsory.  The  results  should,  therefore,  be  more  re- 
liably indicative  of  the  real  differences  which  exist  between 
these  various  occupational  groups  than  the  results  we  ob- 
tained from  high  school  seniors,  because  children  from 
certain  occupational  classes  may  not  attend  high  school 
at  all,  and  children  from  other  occupational  groups  might 
not  be  able  to  graduate  from  high  school  if  they  did  attend. 
The  results  of  the  study  referred  to,  cannot,  however,  be 
taken  as  truly  representative  since  they  were  obtained 
from  children  in  a  single  community  which,  being  the  seat 
of  the  state  university,  was  overweighted  with  representa- 
tives of  the  professional  class.  The  results  are,  neverthe- 
less, significant  and  should  be  considered  in  connection 
with  the  data  gathered  in  the  army,  and  the  results  ob- 
tained in  the  present  study  of  the  intelligence  of  6188  high 
school  seniors  from  all  parts  of  the  state,  and  representing 
all  the  occupational  groups  listed  above. 

As  previously  stated  all  seniors  taking  the  test  were  re- 
grouped on  the  basis  of  the  occupations  of  their  fathers. 
The  intelligence  scores  made  by  these  various  occupational 
groups  were  then  compared  on  the  basis  of  central  tendency. 
The  results  are  shown  in  Figure  50,  which  indicates  the 
record  made  by  the  middle  50  per  cent  of  the  seniors  be- 
longing to  each  occupational  class.  The  data  are  so  pre- 
sented that  the  record  made  by  any  occupational  group 
may  readily  be  compared  with  the  state  standard  or  with 


192    INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

the  record  of  any  other  occupational  group.  As  may 
readily  be  seen,  there  are  marked  differences  between  the 
general  level  of  mental  ability  among  these  several  occu- 
pational groups.  The  children  from  professional  families 
rank  ahead  of  all  other  groups.  The  children  of  day  la- 
borers and  farmers  rank  lowest  and  this  order  remains  the 
same  whether  the  sexes  are  considered  singly,  or  together. 

TOST  SCORE 

SO       90        100      110       120       130       140       ISO       160       170 

PEaCENTILES.  5         10  .15  75        9O    95         99 

PROFESSIONAL  WORKERS 


CLERICAL  WORKERS 
SKILLED  ARTISANS 
SALESMEN  6  CLERKS 
BUSINESS  EXECUTIVES 
DAY  LABORERS 

FARMERS 

INTELLIGENCE  GRADES 

f  A* 

FIGURE  50.  —  Scores  made  by  the  middle  50  per  cent  of  seniors  repre- 
senting different  occupational  classes. 

Table  XXXVII  shows  the  per  cent  belonging  to  each 
occupational  class  who  made  scores  above  the  median  of 
our  standard  group.  In  this  comparison  the  groups  oc- 
cupy the  same  relative  positions  shown  above  except  that 
salesmen  and  clerks  rank  ahead  of  the  artisan  class.  Per- 
haps the  most  significant  fact  revealed  by  the  latter  com- 
parison is  the  notable  sex  differences  which  appear  when 


INTELLIGENCE    AND   FATHER'S    OCCUPATION     193 


we  consider  the  professional  and  artisan  groups.     (Com- 
pare section  4  below.) 

TABLE  XXXVII 

PER  CENT  OP  SENIORS  BELONGING  TO  EACH  OCCUPATIONAL  CLASS 
MAKING  SCORES  ABOVE  THE  STATE  MEDIAN 


No 

OCCUPA- 
TIONAL 
CLASSES 

PROFES- 
SIONAL 

CLERI- 
CAL 

SALES- 
MEN 

ARTI- 
SANS 

EXECU- 
TIVES 

DAY 
LABOR- 
ERS 

FARM- 
ERS 

OCCUPA- 
TION 
MEN- 

TIONED 

Sexes 

comb'd 

60 

60 

56 

55 

54 

47 

43 

50 

Boys  .    . 

67 

65 

60 

60 

59 

50 

44 

58 

Girls  .    . 

54 

57 

55 

51 

50 

46 

42 

47 

Cases  .    . 

317 

211 

325 

946 

998 

489 

1963 

499 

TEST  SCORES 

8O      90        100      110       120       130       140       ISO       160       170 


PERCENTILES       .  5         10  15 

PROFESSIONAL  WORKERS 


CLERICAL  WORKERS 
SKILLED  TRADESMEN 
SALESMEN  V CLERICS 
BUSINESS  EXECUTIVES 
DAY  LABORERS 
FARMERS 


75         90     95 


99 


BOYS 
GIRLS 


F  E-  E  D 

INTELLIGENCE  GRADES 


C-      C        C+         B 


FIGURE  51.  —  Same  groups  of  seniors  compared   in  Figure  50  distrib- 
uted according  to  sex. 


194    INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIOR 

That  these  differences  between  occupational  groups  and 
between  the  sexes  hold  for  all  levels  of  ability  is  shown  by 
the  percentile  curves  pictured  in  Figure  52,  which  compare 
the  records  made  by  the  professional  and  farmer  groups. 
The  curves  show  the  scores  made  by  a  definite  proportion 
of  students  belonging  to  each  occupational  class,  the  5,  10, 
20.. .95  percentile  groups.  An  inspection  of  the  figure 
reveals  the  fact  that  the  boys  rank  consistently  higher 
than  the  girls  at  every  level  and  that  the  superiority  of 
both  boys  and  girls  coming  from  the  professional  class 
is  clearly  marked.  Similar  curves  were  drawn  for  all 
occupational  groups  but  no  additional  facts  were  revealed. 
Sex  differences  similar  to  those  shown  in  Table  XXXVII 
and  in  Figures  51  and  52  appear  in  each  group.  The 
significant  fact  revealed  by  these  curves  is  that  the  su- 
periority or  inferiority  of  a  given  group  remains  constant 
for  all  intellectual  levels. 

These  results  appear  all  the  more  noteworthy  when  we 
reflect  that  the  day  laborer  group  had  less  than  half  its 
normal  quota  of  students  in  the  graduating  class. 

(6)  Distribution  of  the  brightest  and  dullest  seniors 
among  the  various  occupational  groups.  A  question 
of  greater  sociological  and  educational  importance  than 
the  foregoing  is  that  of  the  presence  or  absence,  in 
each  occupational  group,  of  seniors  possessing  the  most 
superior  grades  of  mental  ability.  In  which  occu- 
pational groups  were  the  brightest  individuals  actually 
found?  What  occupational  classes  contributed  most 
seniors  making  the  highest  and  lowest  mental  ratings  on 
our  tests  ?  To  answer  these  questions  the  several  groups 


INTELLIGENCE   AND    FATHER'S    OCCUPATION     195 


were  compared  with  reference  to  the  number  of  seniors  be- 
longing to  each  group  whose  mental  test  score  gave  them 
mental  ratings  of  A+,  the  highest,  and  F,  the  lowest,  intel- 
ligence grades  made  by  high  school  seniors. 

Since  the  day  laborer  class  had  less  than  half  its  normal 
quota  in  the  senior  classes  of  the  high  schools  tested,  we 
would  expect  the  representatives  of  this  occupation  to 
rank  higher  as  a  group  than  the  other  occupational  classes, 
on  the  theory  that  those  remaining  to  graduate  would  be  a 

TEST  SCORE 

180 1 


170  J 
160 
150- 
HO- 


130- 
120- 
110 


100- 


BOYS 


7 

// 


GIRLS 

I  PROFESSIONAL  GROUP 
1  FARMER  GROUP 


5    10        20  25  40 

PERCENTILE     GROUPS 


50        60 


75   80       90  95 


FIGURE  52.  —  Curves  showing  scores  made  by  definite  proportions 
of  senior  boys  and  girls  representing  the  professional  and  farmer 
classes 


196    INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 


rather  select  group  of  individuals.  From  the  representa- 
tives of  the  business  executive  group  we  would  expect  just 
the  opposite  showing.  Notwithstanding  this  fact  the 
representatives  of  the  day  laborer  group  made  next  to  the 
poorest  showing  on  the  tests,  while  the  business  executive 
group  made  next  to  the  best. 

TABLE  XXXVIII 

PERCENTAGE  OF  SENIORS  BELONGING  TO  EACH  OCCUPATIONAL  CLASS 
MAKING  THE  HIGHEST  AND  LOWEST  INTELLIGENCE  SCORES 


OCCUPA- 
TIONAL 
GROUPS 

PROFES- 
SIONAL 

CLERI- 
CAL 

SALES- 
MEN 

ARTI- 
SANS 

EXECU- 
TIVES 

LABOR- 
ERS 

FARM- 
ERS 

No 

OCCUPA- 
TION 

Per  cent 

rated  A+ 

4.42 

2.37 

2.77 

2.33 

3.00 

.40 

1.48 

2.25 

Per  cent 

rated  F 

1.26 

v 

.30 

.85 

1.00 

1.23 

1.68 

1.84 

Table  XXXVIII  shows  the  per  cent  of  seniors  belonging 
to  each  occupational  class  who  received  a  mental  rating  on 
the  tests  of  A+  or  F,  and  shows  that  every  occupational 
group  contains  seniors  in  the  A+  class  and  every  group 
except  the  clerical  workers  has  representatives  in  the  F 
or  lowest  intelligence  class.  From  this  table  and  previously 
presented  data  it  appears  that  every  occupational  group 
had  not  only  representatives  in  the  senior  classes  of  the 
high  school,  but  had  representatives  in  the  group  possessing 
the  highest  grade  of  mental  ability  found  among  the  high 
school  seniors  of  the  entire  state. 

If  we  consider  all  the  seniors  belonging  to  each  occupa- 
tional class  who  made  scores  on  the  mental  tests  which 
placed  them  in  the  superior  or  very  superior  class,  we  ob- 


INTELLIGENCE  AND  FATHER'S  OCCUPATION     197 


tain  the  same  relative  ranking  that  was  found  when  we 
compared  these  groups  on  the  basis  of  central  tendency. 
The  results  of  this  comparison  are  presented  in  Figure  53, 
which  shows  the  percentage  of  seniors  belonging  to  each 
occupational  group  who  made  an  A  or  B,  and  a  D,  E,  or  F 
rating  on  the  mental  tests.  The  different  occupational 
Percent 


10  i 
RATED 

AorB 

ICH 


COMPARED 


10 


RATED 
0,E  orF 


20 


30 


FIGURE  53.  —  Per  cent  of  seniors  belonging  to  various  occupational 
classes  who  made  the  highest  (A  or  B)  and  the  lowest  (D,  E,  or  F) 
grades  of  intelligence. 


198     INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 


groups  are  presented  in  order  from  the  highest  to  the  low- 
est and  they  fall  in  the  same  order  as  shown  in  Figure  50, 
except  that  the  positions  of  the  salesman  and  artisan  groups 
are  reversed,  the  former  surpassing  the  latter;  as  it  did 
when  the  groups  were  compared  on  the  basis  of  the  per 
cent  making  scores  above  the  median  for  our  total  group, 
(c)  Number  of  seniors  representing  the  several  occu- 
pational groups  who  scored  at  the  various  intelligence 
levels.  A  question  of  considerable  importance  is  the 
relative  frequency  with  which  each  grade  of  mental  ability 
occurred  among  the  seniors  representing  each  occupational 
class.  Do  we  find  all  grades  of  mental  ability  represented 
in  each  occupational  group  ?  Are  all  grades  of  intelligence 
found  in  equal  proportions?  On  what  grades  of  intelli- 
gence does  the  emphasis  fall  in  different  occupational 

groups  ? 

TABLE  XXXIX 

DISTRIBUTION  OP  DIFFERENT  GRADES  OF   INTELLIGENCE   AMONG 
SENIORS  BELONGING  TO  THE  DIFFERENT  OCCUPATIONAL  GROUPS 

OCCUPATIONAL  GROUPS  COMPARED 


PER  CENT 
OF  TOTAL 
GROUP 
RATED 

PROFES- 
SIONAL 

CLERI- 
CAL 

SALES- 
MEN 

ARTI- 
SANS 

EXECU- 
TIVES 

LABOR- 
ERS 

FARM- 
ERS 

No 
OCCU- 
PATION 

AorB 

30.91 

26.06 

24.30 

23.68 

23.14 

19.82 

18.23 

22.89 

D,  E,  or  F 

c+,  c, 

orC~ 

20.44 

48.58 

15.64 

58.28 

23.37 
52.30 

20.92 
55.39 

23.43 
53.11 

28.23 
51.91 

33.20 

48.52 

28.01 
48.06 

Total 

cases 

317 

211 

325 

946 

998 

489 

1963 

499 

To  enable  us  to  answer  these  questions  a  table  was  pre- 
pared showing  the  percentage  of  seniors  belonging  to  the 


INTELLIGENCE  AND  FATHER'S  OCCUPATION     199 

various  groups  who  possessed  each  grade  of  ability  from 
A+  to  F.  Table  XXXIX  combines  certain  items  of  these 
original  data  and  shows  the  per  cent  of  students  belonging 
to  each  occupational  group  who  received  an  intelligence 
rating  indicating  superior  (A  or  B),  average  (C+,  C,  or 
C~),  and  inferior  (D,  E,  or  F)  intelligence. 

Frequency  curves  were  also  drawn  from  these  original 
tables  showing  the  per  cent  of  seniors  belonging  to  the 
several  occupational  groups  who  possessed  each  grade  of 
ability  from  A+  to  F.  Figure  54  compares  the  farmer  and 
professional  groups  on  this  basis.  The  curve  for  the  pro- 
fessional group  rises  above  the  farmer  curve  at  all  points 
Percent 
30  n 


15 
20 
15 
10 
5 


/  \x 

—  PROFESSIONAL  GROUPS 
FARMER  GROUP 


A+      A          B         C+       C         C-        D         E          E-       F 

INTELLIGENCE  GRADES 

FIGUBE  54.  —  Frequency  curves  for  the  farmer  and  professional  groups 
showing  the  per  cent  of  seniors  representing  each  of  these  occupa- 
tional classes  who  possess  the  various  grades  of  intelligence  found 
among  high  school  seniors. 


200   INTELLIGENCE   OF   HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

representing  the  higher  grades  of  ability  and  drops  below 
it  at  all  points  indicating  the  lower  grades  of  intelligence. 
The  curve  for  the  day  laborer  group  is  similar  to  the  curve 
for  the  farmer  group  except  that  it  rises  higher  at  the  points 
representing  a  C  or  C~  grade  of  ability.  The  curves 
for  the  other  occupational  groups  would  occupy  posi- 
tions between  the  curves  for  the  professional  and  farmer 
or  day  laborer  class,  with  certain  slight  shifts  for  particular 

Percent 
15 


20 

15 

10 

5 


x 


// 


BOYS 

GIRLS 


A+      A         B         C+       C         C-       D         E          E-       F 

INTELLIGENCE  GRADES 

FIGURE  55.  —  Frequency  curves  for  senior  boys  and  girls  belonging  to 
the  farmer  class.  They  show  the  percentage  who  possess  each 
grade  of  intelligence  found  among  high  school  seniors. 

grades  of  mental  ability.  In  the  curves  representing  cler- 
ical workers,  skilled  tradesmen,  and  business  executives 
there  are  marked  rises  at  the  points  indicating  the  average 
(C+,  C,  and  C~)  grades  of  intelligence.  For  some  groups 
(clerical  workers)  this  rise  is  towards  the  upper  sector,  i.e. 


INTELLIGENCE   AND   FATHER'S   OCCUPATION     201 

higher  for  the  C+  grade  of  ability ;  for  other  groups  (day 
laborers)  the  curve  reached  its  highest  point  at  the  C~ 
level. 

4.  Sex  differences.  Certain  differences  between  the 
records  made  by  the  boys  and  girls  coming  from  different 
occupational  classes  are  of  sufficient  importance  to  be 
presented.  Frequency  curves  were  drawn  for  the  boys 

Percent 
3O-, 


75 
20  H 
15 
10 
5- 


— i —  — i —  — i —  — i —  — i 1 1 

A*      A         B        C*      C        C-       0        E          E-      F 

INTELLIGENCE  GRADES 

FIGURE  56.  —  Frequency  curves  for  boys  and  girls  representing  the 
skilled  artisan  class.  They  show  the  percentage  who  possess  each 
grade  of  intelligence  found  among  high  school  seniors. 

and  girls  belonging  to  each  occupational  class.  Sample 
records  of  selected  groups  are  shown  in  Figures  55  to 
59.  As  may  be  seen  from  an  inspection  of  these  figures, 
the  sex  curves  for  the  farmer  group  run  almost  parallel, 
as  do  the  curves  for  the  clerical  group.  For  the  artisan 


202    INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

and  day  laborer  groups,  the  curves  for  the  boys  rise  above 
the  curves  for  the  girls  at  all  points  indicating  the  higher 
grades  of  intelligence,  and  drop  below  them  at  all  points 
representing  the  lower  grades  of  mental  ability. 

The  same  unusual  difference  in  favor  of  the  boys  repre- 
senting various  occupational  classes  was  shown  in  Figure  51 
above.  This  suggests  that  only  the  brighter  boys  from 

Percent 
30  T 


75 
70 

15  -\ 


ICH  '      '  ^ 


5- 


V\ 
\ 

\ 


A+      A         B         C+       C         C-       D         E          E-       F 

INTELLIGENCE  GRADES 

FIGURE  57.  —  Frequency  curves  for  senior  boys  and  girls  representing 
the  day  laborer  class,  showing  the  percentage  who  possess  each 
grade  of  intelligence  found  among  high  school  seniors. 

the  laborer  and  artisan  classes  are  being  graduated  from 
high  school,  while  a  greater  proportion  of  the  girls  repre- 
senting these  two  occupations  complete  a  high  school 
course.  The  fact  that  the  sex  differences  are  less  marked 
between  the  boys  and  girls  representing  the  other  occupa- 


INTELLIGENCE   AND   FATHER'S   OCCUPATION    203 


tional  classes  would  tend  to  show  that  boys  from  the  former 
occupational  classes  are  found  in  high  school  in  smaller 
proportions. 

5.  General  summary.  The  more  important  facts  con- 
tained in  this  chapter  may  be  summarized  as  follows: 

1.  All  occupational  groups  are  represented  in  the  senior 
classes  of  Indiana  high  schools,  but  not  in  natural  propor- 

Percent 
30 1 


15 

20 

15 

10 

5 

O 


\ 


\ 


\ 


/     

/ 


v 


BOYS 
GIRLS 


A+      A          B         C+       C 

INTELLIGENCE  GRADES 


C- 


E- 


FIGURE  58.  —  Frequency  curves  for  senior  boys  and  girls  representing 
the  professional  class,  showing  the  percentage  possessing  each  grade 
of  intelligence. 

tion.  Parents  representing  the  executive,  foreman,  and 
business  pursuits  had  more  than  their  proportionate  rep- 
resentation. Day  laborers  had  less  than  half  then-  normal 
allotment;  the  other  occupational  classes  had  about  the 


204    INTELLIGENCE   OF   HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 


representation  which  their  position  in  the  state  would  lead 
us  to  expect. 

2.  Each  occupational  group  had  representatives  in  the 
highest  1  percentile  group  —  and  all  but  one  occupation 
(clerical  workers)  had  representatives  in  the  class  possess- 
ing the  lowest  grade  of  mental  ability  found  among  high 
school  seniors. 


Percent 
30 


75 
20 

15 

10 

5- 


A+      A         B         C+    • 

INTELLIGENCE  GRADES 


c- 


E-       F 


FIGURE  69.  —  Frequency  curves  for  senior  boys  and  girls  represent- 
ing the  clerical  workers  class  showing  the  percentage  possessing 
each  grade  of  intelligence. 

3.  If  considered  on  the  basis  of  central  tendency  or  on 
the  basis  of  the  percentage  belonging  to  each  occupational 
class  whose  mental  test  scores  gave  them  a  superior  (B) 
or  very  superior  (A)  mental  rating,  some  very  definite  and 


INTELLIGENCE    AND    FATHER'S    OCCUPATION    205 

marked  differences  appear  between  the  representatives  of 
the  several  occupational  groups.  The  children  of  profes- 
sional parentage  rank  highest  in  all  these  comparisons. 
The  children  from  the  farmer  and  day  laborer  classes  rank 
lowest.  The  seniors  from  the  other  occupational  groups 
rank  between  these  extremes. 

4.  The  boys  from  each  occupational  class  rank  con- 
sistently higher  than  the  girls  representing  the  same  occu- 
pation, suggesting  a  natural  selection  of  the  brightest  boys. 
For  certain  occupational  groups,  e.g.  the  professional, 
artisan,  and  day  laborer  classes  this  process  of  selection  has 
seemingly  taken  place  to  a  more  marked  degree  than  for 
other  occupations.  That  is  to  say,  the  boys  rank  rela- 
tively higher  for  these  occupational  classes  than  for  the 
others,  suggesting  that  only  the  brighter  boys  from  these 
occupational  classes  remain  to  finish  a  high  school  course. 

6.  Discussion  of  results.  From  the  data  presented 
in  this  chapter  it  appears  that  while  all  occupational 
classes  have  representatives  in  the  senior  classes  of 
the  high  schools  of  the  state,  they  are  not  equally 
well  represented.  There  are  proportionately  more  than 
twice  as  many  seniors  coming  from  the  business  execu-  N 
tive  and  commercial  group  as  the  relative  importance 
of  this  occupation  in  the  state  would  lead  us  to  expect. 
The  farmer  group  also  had  more  than  its  quota  of  repre- 
sentatives. The  skilled  artisan  and  day  laborer  classes,  on 
the  other  hand,  had  fewer  representatives  than  we  should 
expect.  To  what  is  this  inequality  due  ?  Why  is  the  day 
laborer  and  skilled  artisan  class  less  adequately  represented 
than  it  should  be  and  why  do  farmers  and  business  men 


206    INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

have  more  than  their  share  of  representatives  in  the  gradu- 
ating classes  of  Indiana  high  schools  ?  Is  the  reason  finan- 
cial ?  The  business  men  of  the  state  are  the  money  makers 
and  the  farmers  are  certainly  well  able  to  send  their  children 
to  high  school.  Is  the  inequality  due  to  a  lack  of  mental 
ability  on  the  part  of  the  children  coming  from  the  day 
laborer  class?  Our  distribution  tables  showed  that  this 
occupational  group  had  proportionately  about  as  many  rep- 
resentatives possessing  the  highest  grade  of  intelligence 
found  among  high  school  seniors  as  any  other  occupational 
group,  though  the  general  level  of  ability  of  the  group  was 
next  to  the  lowest  (farmer  group).  If  the  law  of  the  sur- 
vival of  the  fittest  operates,  it  would  mean  that  the  rather 
low  level  of  mental  ability  of  the  children  of  this  occupa- 
tional class  was  still  lower  than  our  figures  show.  The 
rather  full  representation  from  the  business  and  farmer 
groups  would  help  to  account  for  the  poor  mental  showing 
made  by  these  occupational  groups  on  the  tests.  Or  shall 
we  say  that  the  unequal  representation  of  the  several  occu- 
pational groups  means  that  our  high  schools  are  better 
adapted  to  the  needs  of  the  professional,  clerical,  and  busi- 
ness groups  than  to  those  of  the  artisan  and  day  laborer 
classes  ? 

Perhaps  the  most  important  circumstance  revealed  by 
this  chapter  is  the  fact  that  all  occupational  groups  are  ac- 
tually represented  in  the  senior  classes  of  our  high  schools. 
This  shows  that  our  high  schools  are  democratic  in  a  real 
sense  and  means  that  every  effort  should  be  made  to  adapt 
their  work  to  the  variety  of  interests  and  vocational  needs 
which  a  democratic  society  presents. 


INTELLIGENCE    AND    FATHER'S    OCCUPATION    207 

The  inequalities  in  mental  strength  found  among  the 
representatives  of  these  various  occupational  groups  is  a 
condition  of  special  interest  and  far-reaching  significance. 
The  evidence  is  clear  that  there  are  marked  differences 
between  individuals  belonging  to  various  occupational 
classes  —  differences  which  by  heredity  manifest  them- 
selves in  the  children  of  the  various  occupational  groups 
who  attend  our  public  schools.  This  means  that  the  work 
of  the  public  schools,  to  be  truly  democratic,  must  be  ad- 
justed to  these  individual  differences  in  ability  as  well  as 
adapted  to  the  needs  of  individuals  varying  so  greatly  in 
the  occupations  which  they  will  follow  in  later  life.  In  a 
school  which  presumably  serves  all  the  people  it  will  not 
suffice  to  set  up  a  traditional  course  of  study  fashioned  for 
and  adapted  to  the  needs  and  interests  of  a  few  occupa- 
tional groups.  The  schools  must  be  adapted  to  the  mental 
inequalities  and  varying  interests  of  the  entire  pop- 
ulation. 

The  importance  of  the  economic  side  of  the  problem 
will  be  shown  in  the  following  chapter.  If  later 
investigations  should  show  that  the  reason  for  the 
poor  representation  from  the  day  laborer  class  in  our 
high  schools  is  chiefly  financial,  this  discovery  will  be  ex- 
tremely significant.  If  a  real  difference  in  mental  ability 
exists,  this  fact  is  equally  important.  Even  as  the  case 
now  stands  there  is  abundant  evidence  to  show  that 
many  who  are  now  mere  "hewers  of  wood  and  drawers 
of  water"  have  the  native  mental  ability  to  do  some  of 
the  highest  types  of  work,  but  are  bound  down  by 
economic  conditions  and  the  law  of  habit  over  which  they 


208    INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

have  no  control,  and  so  are  totally  unable  to  take  up 
lines  of  work  better  suited  to  their  native  interests 
and  intellectual  strength.  As  will  be  shown  in  the 
following  chapter  mere  wealth  is  no  guarantee  of  intellec- 
tual endowment. 


CHAPTER  XI 

INTELLIGENCE  OF  HIGH    SCHOOL   SENIORS  REP- 
RESENTING DIFFERENT  ECONOMIC   CLASSES 

A  QUESTION  of  considerable  importance  is  the  relation 
that  exists  between  the  intelligence  of  high  school  seniors 
and  the  economic  status  of  their  parents.  Are  the  most 
intelligent  people  in  the  state  also  the  wealthiest?  Does 
it  require  a  high  degree  of  native  mental  ability  to  accu- 
mulate wealth  ?  Is  a  high  yearly  income  a  sure  index  of 
superior  intelligence?  What  economic  groups  have  the 
best  mentally  endowed  children  in  the  high  school?  If 
mental  ability  is  inherited,  as  is  generally  assumed,  a  com- 
parison of  the  mental  ratings  made  by  the  seniors  belonging 
to  the  different  economic  groups  actually  represented  in 
the  high  school  should  give  important  information  bearing 
on  these  points.  Such  intelligence  rankings  can,  however, 
be  considered  only  as  they  pertain  to  the  product  of  the 
high  schools  which  in  all  probability  are  not  truly  repre- 
sentative of  all  economic  classes. 

To  enable  us  to  compare  the  representatives  of  different 
economic  groups  each  senior  taking  the  intelligence  tests 
was  asked  to  state  the  yearly  income  of  his  father  during 
the  year  previous  to  the  examination.  In  case  this  was 
not  known,  the  student  was  asked  to  give  an  estimate  and 
to  indicate  in  his  answer  that  it  was  an  estimate.  This 
item  was  afterwards  checked  by  the  principal  or  teacher 
in  charge  of  the  mental  examination,  who  was  asked  to 
verify  the  student's  statement.  Reliable  answers  were 

209 


210    INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 


secured  from  4346  of  the  5748  seniors  used  in  these  com- 
parative studies,  1898  boys  and  2448  girls.  The  others 
either  failed  to  answer  this  question  or  gave  ambiguous 
information,  which  was  discarded. 

TABLE  XL 

PERCENTAGE  OP  HIGH  SCHOOL  SENIORS  BELONGING  TO  DIFFER- 
ENT ECONOMIC  GROUPS 


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

ECONOMIC  GROUPS  COM- 
PARED 

Salary, 
$4500- 
12,000 

Salary, 
$3000- 
4500 

Salary, 
$2000- 
3000 

Salary, 
$1000- 
2000 

Salary, 
$500- 
1000 

Total  cases  

370 

199 

724 

1964 

1089 

Per  cent  of  seniors  .  .  . 

8.51 

4.58 

16.67 

45.19 

25.04 

To  make  a  comparison  possible  between  the  representa- 
tives of  different  economic  classes  we  grouped  them  as  fol- 
lows: (1)  those  whose  parents'  annual  income  ranged  from 
$4500  to  $12,000  or  more ;  (2)  those  having  a  yearly  in- 
come of  $3000  to  $4500;  (3)  those  earning  $2000  to 
$3000  per  year ;  (4)  those  making  from  $1000  to  $2000 
per  year;  (5)  those  having  an  annual  income  of  $500  to 
$1000  per  year.  Tabulations  were  then  made  in  such  a 
way  that  the  test  scores  made  by  the  students  belonging 
to  each  of  these  economic  groups  could  be  compared  with 
one  another  and  with  our  total  or  standard  group.1  Table 

1  We  have  no  figures  showing  the  number  of  family  heads  there  were  in 
the  state  in  1918-19  who  had  these  different  grades  of  income.  But  the 
percentage  of  seniors  who  belong  to  each  class  is  significant.  It  will  be 
seen  that  almost  half  the  group  belong  to  class  four  (annual  income 
$1000  to  $2000)  and  one-fourth  to  class  five  (annual  income  less  than 
$1000). 


INTELLIGENCE   AND   ECONOMIC   STATUS    211 

XL  shows  the  per  cent  of  seniors  belonging  to  the  various 
economic  groups. 

These  several  ecomomic  groups  were  compared  (1)  on 
the  basis  of  the  general  level  of  intelligence  possessed  by 
each  group ;  (2)  on  the  basis  of  the  number  of  seniors 
belonging  to  each  group  who  possessed  the  highest  grades 
of  intelligence ;  and  (3)  on  the  basis  of  the  frequency  with 
which  these  several  grades  of  intelligence  occurred  among 
the  members  of  each  group.  The  results  of  these  com- 
parisons are  presented  in  tables  and  curves,  which  follow. 

1.  General  level  of  ability  of  the  seniors  belonging 
to  different  economic  groups.  The  groups  were  first 
compared  on  the  basis  of  the  scores  made  by  the  middle 
50  per  cent  of  the  individuals  belonging  to  each 
economic  group.  The  results  of  this  comparison  are 
shown  in  Figure  60,  which  enables  us  to  compare  the 
records  made  by  the  middle  50  per  cent  of  each  group 
with  each  other  and  with  our  state  standard.  There  is 
but  little  difference  between  the  intelligence  of  the  in- 
dividuals representing  the  first  four  groups.  There  is, 
however,  a  marked  difference  between  the  records  made  by 
the  seniors  belonging  to  these  high-income  groups  and 
those  whose  parents'  income  was  less  than  $1000  per  year. 

The  same  fact  is  shown  in  another  way  if  we  compare 
these  several  groups  on  the  basis  of  the  per  cent  belonging 
to  each  who  made  scores  on  the  intelligence  tests  above 
the  state  median.  These  figures  are  given  in  Table  XLI. 

If  the  sexes  are  combined,  we  get  a  slight  but  continuous 
decline  as  we  pass  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest  salaried 
group,  and  a  marked  decline  for  the  lowest  salaried  group. 


212    INTELLIGENCE    OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

But  the  most  significant  fact  revealed  by  the  latter  com- 
parison is  the  marked  difference  which  appears  between 
the  records  made  by  the  boys  and  girls  coming  from 
the  wealthier  groups.  Nearly  9  per  cent  more  boys  than 
girls  belonging  to  the  two  highest  salaried  groups  made 
scores  above  the  state  median.  (Compare  Figure  60  and 
Table-XLL)  This  same  fact  is  shown  in  Figure  60  by  the 
comparatively  low  median  score  made  by  the  girls  rep- 
resenting the  wealthier  groups.  For  the  groups  repre- 
senting parents  whose  annual  incomes  range  from  $500  to 
$1000  and  $2000  to  $3000  we  find  only  the  usual  amount 
of  difference  between  the  records  made  by  the  boys  and 
girls.  For  the  highest  income  groups  the  boys  make 
records  far  superior  to  those  of  the  girls. 


TEST  scone 

8O      90       100      110       HO       130       140      ISO      160      170 

PBRCENTILES  5         10  W   — — ^^Jg         90 

450O  TO 
11000 


3OOO  TO 
45OO 

IOOOTO 
1OOO 

1000  TO 
3000 

500  TO 
IOOO 


F  E-  E          D         C-     C       O       B        A          A* 

INTELLIGENCE  GRADES 

FiQUBB  60.  —  Scores  made  by  the  middle  50  per  cent  of  senior  boys 
and  girls  representing  different  economic  strata  or  groups. 


INTELLIGENCE   AND   ECONOMIC   STATUS    213 


TABLE  XLI 

PERCENTAGE  OP  SENIORS  BELONGING  TO  EACH  ECONOMIC  GROUP 
WHO  MADE  SCORES  ABOVE  THE  STATE  MEDIAN 


1 

3 

2 

4 

5 

ECONOMIC  GROUPS  COMPARED 

Salary, 
$4500- 
12,000 

Salary, 
$2000- 
3000 

Salary, 
$3000- 
4500 

Salary, 
$1000- 
2000 

Salary, 
$500- 
1000 

Sexes  combined  

5459 

53  17 

5276 

51.68 

4343 

Boys  

5894 

5420 

56  58 

53.75 

4427 

Girls    

5000 

52  45 

4835 

51.47 

42.23 

2.  Location  of  the  brightest  seniors.  When  we  deter- 
mine which  economic  group  furnished  the  largest  percent- 
age of  seniors  possessing  the  higher  grades  of  intelli- 
gence we  secure  different  results.  All  economic  groups 
except  the  highest  salaried  group  are  represented  in  the 
highest  one  percentile  class.  Table  XLII  shows  the 
percentage  of  students  belonging  to  each  economic  group 
whose  mental  test  score  gave  them  a  rating  of  A+  or  A, 
the  highest  grades  made  on  the  tests,  also  the  percentage 
making  a  mental  rating  of  E~  or  F,  the  lowest  grades  of 
intelligence  possessed  by  our  total  or  standard  group. 
Grooips  2,  3,  and  4,  where  the  income  varied  from  $1000 
to  $4500,  have  the  largest  percentage  of  seniors  rated  A+, 
and  groups  1  and  5  the  smallest.  Groups  3  and  4  are 
superior  to  group  2  in  the  per  cent  of  students  rated 
A+  or  A. 

From  a  study  of  our  distribution  tables  it  appears  that 
neither  group  1  nor  group  5  contain  students  who  score 
above  180  points  in  the  tests.  But  seniors  possessing 


214    INTELLIGENCE   OF   HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 


this  grade  of  ability  were  found  in  each  of  the  other  eco- 
nomic groups.  The  brightest  students  belong  to  group  4, 
the  annual  income  of  whose  parents  ranged  from  $1000 
to  $2000.  Eight  students  belonging  to  this  group,  6  boys 
and  2  girls,  made  scores  over  185.  And  5  students  in 
our  lowest  economic  group  (annual  income  $500  to  $1000) 
made  scores  ranging  from  175  to  180,  while  there  was  but 
a  single  student  in  our  highest  salaried  group  who  made  a 
score  above  175  points. 

TABLE  XLII 

PER  CENT  OF  STUDENTS  IN  EACH  ECONOMIC  GROUP  POSSESSING 
THE  HIGHEST  OR  LOWEST  GRADES  OF  ABILITY 


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

ECONOMIC  GROUPS  COMPARED 

Salary, 
$4500- 
12,000 

Salary, 
$3000- 
4500 

Salary, 
$2000- 
3000 

Salary, 
$1000- 
2000 

Salary, 
$500- 
1000 

Per  cent  rated  : 
A+     

1  89 

3  01 

2  48 

249 

.82 

A+  or  A  

756 

753 

1  10.07 

8.24 

5.68 

F     

108 

1  50 

55 

.81 

1.92 

E-  or  F      

5  13 

652 

469 

503 

8.99 

Total  cases    

370 

199 

724 

1964 

1089 

If  we  count  all  students  whose  test  score  gave  them  a 
mental  rating  of  A+,  A,  or  B,  these  various  economic 
groups  arrange  themselves  as  shown  in  Figure  61  :  Group 
3  (income  $2000  to  $3000)  comes  first ;  group  2  (annual 
income  of  $3000  to  $4500)  comes  second ;  group  4  (an- 
nual income  $1000  to  $2000)  ranks  third;  while  the 
highest  and  lowest  salaried  groups  come  last. 


INTELLIGENCE  AND   ECONOMIC   STATUS    215 

A  significant  sex  difference  for  groups  2  and  4  is  shown 
in  Figure  62.  These  groups  have  an  unusually  large  num- 
ber of  boys  ranked  A  or  B  and  a  relatively  small  number 
of  girls  making  this  ranking.  If  we  take  into  account 
sex  differences,  the  groups  would  be  arranged  as  follows 
for  the  boys,  2, 4, 3, 1,  and  5 ;  for  the  girls,  3, 4, 1,  2,  and  5. 


Percent 
30-, 


RATED 
AorB 


10 


GROUPS 

COMPARED 


1000        3000  1000         4500 

aooo     4500      1000      11000 


10 


RATED 

D,E  orF 


30 

FIGURE  61.  —  Percentage  of  seniors  representing  different  economic 
classes  who  made  the  highest  (A  or  B)  and  the  lowest  (D,  E,  or  F) 
intelligence  scores  on  the  teats. 


216    INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 


If  we  compare  the  records  made  on  our  tests  by  the 
group  of  seniors  representing  the  richest  and  poorest  homes, 
we  find  that  there  are  proportionally  more  children  pos- 
sessing the  highest  grades  of  mental  ability  among  the 
poorest  class  than  among  the  wealthiest  class,  and  more 
individuals  with  high  average  grades  of  intelligence  among 
Percent 


10- 


RATED 


AorB 


10- 


0 


10 


RATED 
D,E  orF 


10- 


30  J 


I 


500     TO 
1OOO 


BOYS 
GIRLS 


FICTOBE  62.  —  Percentage  of  senior  boys  and  girls  belonging  to  each 
economic  class  who  made  the  highest  (A  or  B)  and  the  lowest  (D, 
E,  or  F)  intelligence  rating  on  the  tests. 


INTELLIGENCE   AND   ECONOMIC   STATUS    217 


the  wealthier  than  among  the  poorer  group.  The  wealth- 
iest group  ranks  high  on  central  tendency.  The  poorest 
salaried  group  ranks  low  on  central  tendency  and  also 
has  a  larger  percentage  of  individuals  possessing  the  lower 
grades  of  mental  ability.  But  there  are  individuals  in 
this  class  who  obtain  the  highest  intelligence  rating  made 
by  high  school  seniors. 

Percent 

30 1 


75 

20- 

15- 

10- 

5- 


\ 


A+   A      B      C+   C      C-    D      E       E-     F 

INTELLIGENCE  GRADES 

FIGURE  63.  —  Frequency  curves  for  seniors  representing  the  most 
wealthy  (group  1)  and  least  wealthy  (group  5)  parents.  The 
curves  show  the  percentage  belonging  to  each  group  who  possess 
each  grade  of  intelligence  found  among  the  high  school  seniors  of 
the  entire  state. 

3.   Number  of  seniors  in  each  economic  group  who 
score  at  the  various  intelligence  levels.    A  table  was  pre- 


218    INTELLIGENCE   OF   HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 


pared  showing  the  percentage  belonging  to  the  several 
economic  groups  who  possessed  each  grade  of  intelli- 
gence from  A+  to  F,  and  curves  were  drawn  showing  the 
frequency  with  which  these  grades  of  intelligence  occurred 
among  the  individuals  belonging  to  different  groups. 
Table  XLIII  combines  certain  of  these  results  and 
shows  that  more  students  belonging  to  the  wealthiest 
class  made  scores  above  the  state  median  than  was  the 
case  for  any  other  group,  but  that  a  relatively  large  pro- 
portion of  these  students  were  only  rated  C+.  This  is 
clearly  shown  by  the  frequency  curves  for  this  group  given 
in  Figure  63,  which  compares  group  1  (annual  income  over 
$4500)  with  group  5  (annual  income  $500  to  $1000). 
The  curve  for  group  1  rises  above  the  other  curve  at  all 
points  indicating  the  higher  grades  of  mental  ability  and 
drops  below  it  at  all  points  indicating  the  lower  grades  of 
intelligence.  An  unusually  large  percentage  of  individuals 
belonging  to  group  1  are  rated  C+,  as  is  shown  by  the 
height  of  the  curve  at  that  point. 

TABLE  XLIII 

PERCENTAGE  BELONGING  TO  EACH  GROUP  POSSESSING  DIFFERENT 
GRADES  OP  INTELLIGENCE 


3 

2 

4 

1 

5 

COMPARED 

Salary, 
$2000- 
3000 

Salary, 
$3000- 
4500 

Salary, 
$1000- 
2000 

Salary, 
$4500- 
12,000 

Salaryt 
$500- 
1000 

Per  cent  rated  : 
A  or  B     

25.26 

23.10 

22.49 

21.66 

18.45 

D,  E,  or  F  . 

24.57 

27.13 

24.06 

21.67 

31.32 

C+  C,  or  C-  .    .    .    . 
Number  of  cases    .    . 

50.26 
724 

49.73 
199 

53.49 
1964 

56.74 
370 

50.31 
1089 

INTELLIGENCE  AND   ECONOMIC   STATUS    219 


Figure  64  compares  group  3  (annual  income  $2000  to 
$3000)  with  group  5  (annual  income  $500  to  $1000), 
and  shows  group  3  to  be  superior  to  group  5  in  the  rela- 
tively large  percentage  of  students  belonging  to  the  group 
rated  A  or  B.  This  is  shown  by  the  rise  of  the  curve  at 
the  points  indicating  these  grades  of  ability.  The  fre- 
quency curves  for  groups  2  and  4  are  similar  to  the  curve 
for  group  3.  In  fact  they  practically  coincide  with  the 
curve  at  all  levels  of  ability. 

4.   Summary  of  results.    The  more  important  facts 

Percent 
IS-, 


2O- 


15 

10 

5 

0 


/ 


7 

7 


GROUP    5 
GROUP  3 


v\ 


A+      A      B      C+     C       C- 

INTELLIGENCE  GRADES 


E-     F 


FIQXTRE  64.  —  Frequency  curves  for  seniors  representing  the  poor- 
est (group  5)  and  well  to  do  (group  3)  parents,  showing  percent- 
age who  possess  each  grade  of  intelligence  found  among  high  school 
seniors. 


brought    out  by  this  comparison  of  different  economic 
groups  may  be  summarized  as  follows: 

1.  The  brightest  seniors  did  not  come  from  the  wealth- 
ier groups.     Children  of  parents  in  moderate  economic- 
circumstances    (annual   income   $1000    to    $2000)    rank 
highest  on  the  mental  tests.     (See  Table  XLII.)     But  the 
wealthier  homes  furnish  more  seniors  of  average  and  high 
average  ability  than  do  the  humbler  homes. 

2.  Only  slight  differences  were  found  between  the  intel- 
ligence of  the  students  coming  from  homes  where  the  an- 
nual income  varied  from  $1000  to  $12,000,  but  marked 
differences  were  found  among  the  intelligence  levels  for 
these  groups  and  the  group  coming  from  homes  where 
the  annual  income  was  below  $1000  per  year.     The  latter 
group  rated  decidedly  below  the  other  groups  in  the  per 
cent  making  grades  above  the  state  median,  in  median 
score,  and  in  the  percentage  possessing  the  highest  (A  or 
B)  grades  of  intelligence. 

3.  All  economic  classes  had  representatives  in  the  high 
school  and  among  the  group  rated  A+  on  the  intelligence 
tests.    Taken  as  a  whole  the  seniors  endowed  best  men- 
tally belong  to  groups  3  and  4. 

4.  The  sex  differences  revealed  in  this  chapter  are  prob- 
ably not  significant  unless  the  marked  superiority  shown 
by  the  boys  coming  from  the  wealthiest  groups  has  some 
significance. 


CHAPTER  XII 


INDIVIDUAL  differences  found  among  school  children, 
high  school  students,  and  adults  —  differences  in  mental 
capacity  or  ability  to  learn,  in  vital  capacity  or  endurance, 
in  ability  to  recover  from  fatigue,  in  the  strength  and  kind 
of  special  abilities  possessed  —  are  now  clearly  recognized 
by  all  and  have  been  much  studied.  But  the  fact  that 
there  are  differences  between  groups  of  individuals  which 
are  important  for  a  correct  solution  of  many  of  our  social 
and  educational  problems  has  been  recognized  by  only  a 
few.  Differences  between  children  in  the  same  grade  but 
attending  different  schools,  differences  between  the  chil- 
dren attending  different  buildings  in  the  same  city,  differ- 
ences between  schools  located  in  different  communities, 
differences  between  various  social  and  occupational 
groups  —  these  group  differences  while  as  marked  and 
varied  as  those  found  among  individuals  are  only  beginning 
to  be  investigated. 

The  importance  of  these  group  differences  will  be  recog- 
nized as  soon  as  they  are  pointed  out  and  the  fact  of  their 
existence  demonstrated.  Take  for  example  the  matter  of 
high  school  accrediting.  We  have  been  working  on  the 
theory  in  Indiana  that  high  schools  located  in  every  part 

221 


222    INTELLIGENCE    OF   HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

of  the  state  and  in  every  type  of  community  should  meas- 
ure up  to  the  same  standard  of  efficiency  and  achievement 
regardless  of  the  mental  strength  or  character  of  the  raw 
human  material  with  which  these  schools  have  to  work. 
The  efficiency  and  achievements  of  these  high  schools  have 
been  evaluated  by  our  high  school  inspectors  wholly  on 
the  basis  of  accomplishment,  in  total  disregard  of  any 
inequalities  in  the  native  mental  strength  of  pupils.  All 
have  been  considered  equal  and  recommended  for  com- 
missions to  the  state  board  of  education  if  they  have  met 
the  standard  requirements  regarding  equipment  and  the 
character  and  training  of  their  teaching  force.  The  result 
is  that  the  accomplishment  of  a  "one-talent"  school  has 
been  judged  by  the  same  standards  as  a  "ten-talent" 
school.  Furthermore,  our  colleges  and  universities  have 
been  working  on  the  theory  that  all  high  schools  so  stand- 
ardized would  provide  satisfactory  material  for  the  college, 
provided  they  safeguarded  their  courses  of  study,  the 
training  of  their  teachers,  and  made  sure  that  their  material 
equipment  and  the  character  of  the  instruction  was  up  to 
standard.  Little  attention  has  been  given  to  the  matter 
of  obtaining  real  standards  for  evaluating  the  product  of 
these  high  schools  or  for  measuring  their  accomplishment. 
That  vital  differences  might  be  found  among  the  pupils 
in  these  schools  has  not  been  taken  into  consideration. 

If  such  group  inequalities  exist,  they  should  be  deter- 
mined and  the  character  and  degree  of  difference  pointed  out. 
That  such  group  differences  between  sections  of  the  same 
grade,  between  schools  in  different  communities,  and  be- 
tween individual  schools  do  exist  has  been  shown  by  inves- 


SCHOOL  AND   COMMUNITY   DIFFERENCES  223 

tigations  from  our  own  laboratory.1  We  therefore  desired 
to  measure  and  describe  in  this  study  such  inequalities 
in  the  native  mental  endowment  of  high  school  seniors 
representing  different  communities  and  different  individual 
schools,  as  might  be  found  to  exist.  We  wished  to  acquaint 
teachers  and  school  officials  with  these  differences  in  order 
that  they  might  better  adjust  the  work  of  their  schools 
to  the  varying  capacities  and  needs  of  their  pupils. 

Several  different  kinds  of  comparisons  will  be  made  in 
this  chapter :  (1)  the  intelligence  of  seniors  coming  from 
high  schools  of  different  sizes  or  ranks;  (2)  the  intelli- 
gence of  seniors  coming  from  the  northern,  central,  and 
southern  sections  of  the  state ;  (3)  the  intelligence  of  sen- 
iors coming  from  rural  and  city  high  schools ;  (4)  the  intelli- 
gence of  seniors  representing  strictly  agricultural,  manufac- 
turing, and  mining  communities;  (5)  the  intelligence  of 
seniors  coming  from  the  best  and  the  worst  economic  sec- 
tions of  the  state ;  (6)  the  grades  of  intelligence  possessed 
by  seniors  coming  from  individual  schools  of  the  same  size 
and  rank  but  located  in  different  parts  of  the  state; 
(7)  the  intelligence  of  seniors  from  high  schools  located 
in  the  same  city  or  county ;  (8)  the  distribution  of  different 
grades  of  intelligence  among  the  seniors  of  different  indi- 
vidual schools;  (9)  the  location  and  geographical  dis- 
tribution of  the  ablest  seniors  found  in  the  state  will  be 
shown  by  means  of  a  map. 

Method.  In  order  to  study  sectional  differences  we 
divided  the  state  into  three  districts,  a  northern,  a  central 

1  Pressey,  S.  L.,  "A  Comparison  of  Two  Cities  and  Their  School  Systems 
by  Means  of  a  Group  Scale  of  Intelligence,"  Educational  Administration 
and  Supervision,  Vol.  V,  1919,  pp.  53-62. 


224    INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

and  a  southern  section,  as  is  shown  on  the  map  in  Figure  80. 
The  individual  schools  were  then  grouped  into  eight  differ- 
ent ranks,  based  upon  the  size  of  their  senior  class.  All 
schools  whose  senior  class  consisted  of  100  or  more  students 
were  classed  as  rank  1 ;  schools  whose  senior  class  num- 
bered from  75  to  100  were  given  rank  2 ;  50  to  74,  rank  3 ; 
35  to  49,  rank  4 ;  20  to  34,  rank  5 ;  10  to  19,  rank  6 ;  6  to 
9,  rank  7 ;  and  1  to  5,  rank  8.  Table  XLIV  shows  the 
number  of  schools  belonging  to  each  of  these  ranks. 

To  determine  all  inequalities  in  mental  strength  found 
in  the  individual  high  schools  of  the  state,  we  retabulated 
the  intelligence  scores  made  by  the  senior  class  of  each 
school.  This  enabled  us  to  compare  not  merely  individual 
schools  of  the  same  rank  in  different  cities,  counties,  com- 
munities, and  sections  of  the  state,  but  to  ascertain  the 
different  grades  of  intelligence  that  were  found  in  the  senior 
classes  of  different  schools  and  to  see  how  different  grades 
of  mental  ability  were  distributed  in  any  particular  school.1 
The  facts  revealed  by  these  various  comparisons  are  pre- 
sented below. 

1.  Intelligence  of  seniors  coming  from  schools  of 
different  rank.  The  distribution  of  the  different  grades 
of  intelligence  found  among  the  seniors  from  high  schools 
of  different  rank  is  shown  in  Table  XLIV,  which  gives 

1  Only  a  few  facts  revealed  by  this  comparative  study  of  individual 
schools  can  be  given  in  this  report,  but  the  individual  school  records  as 
well  as  all  original  data  collected  have  been  placed  on  file  in  the  Psycho- 
logical Laboratory  at  Indiana  University  for  reference.  Any  superin- 
tendent or  teacher  desiring  information  with  regard  to  any  particular 
school  not  contained  in  this  report  may  obtain  it  by  writing  to  W.  F. 
Book,  head  of  the  Department  of  Psychology,  Indiana  University, 
Bloomington. 


SCHOOL  AND   COMMUNITY   DIFFERENCES    225 


the  results  for  all  schools  in  the  state  by  ranks.  The 
proportion  of  seniors  possessing  superior  grades  of  intel- 
ligence is  shown  by  the  per  cent  belonging  to  each  rank 
who  were  rated  A  or  B ;  the  proportion  of  pupils  possess- 
ing the  most  inferior  grades  of  intelligence  by  the  per 
cent  rated  D,  E,  or  F.  The  general  level  of  intelligence 
for  each  rank  is  indicated  by  the  median  score  for  the 
rank,  and  by  the  per  cent  who  made  scores  above  the 
state  median.  The  distribution  of  different  grades  of 
ability  for  each  rank  is  shown  by  the  per  cent  of  students 
who  obtained  the  various  intelligence  ratings  from  A+  to  F. 

TABLE  XLIV 

PER  CENT  OP  SENIORS  IN  SCHOOLS  OF  ALL  RANKS  WHO  POSSESS 
DIFFERENT  GRADES  OF  INTELLIGENCE 


RANK 

SCORING 

ABOVE 

175 

PER  CENT  RATED 

SCORING 

ABOVE 

STATE 
MEDIAN 

MEDIAN 

FOR 

RANK 

TOTAL 

CASES 

No 
SCHOOLS 

A+ 

A  or 
B 

D.E, 

or  F 

c+ 

C  or 

c- 

1 

.92 

1.72 

21 

24 

24 

31 

53 

138 

1035 

7 

2 

2.30 

3.69 

28 

18 

24 

30 

58 

141 

434 

6 

3 

2.13 

3.20 

31 

22 

21 

25 

59 

141 

753 

12 

4 

1.60 

3.09 

27 

21 

27 

25 

60 

142 

817 

21 

5 

1.29 

2.24 

21 

28 

20 

31 

48 

136 

1186 

50 

6 

.66 

1.39 

19 

34 

18 

29 

45 

133 

1219 

92 

7 

1.37 

2.74 

20 

30 

20 

30 

46 

135 

585 

85 

8 

1.25 

3.13 

21 

25 

22 

32 

48 

136 

162 

47 

An  examination  of  the  table  shows  some  rather  marked 
differences  between  the  schools  of  the  various  ranks. 
Figure  65  shows  the  relative  number  of  A  and  B  students 
in  the  schools  of  each  rank.  On  this  basis  of  comparison 
the  order  of  excellence  is  as  follows :  Rank  3  first,  then 


226    INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 


2,  4,  8,  5,  1,  7,  with  rank  6  last.  As  shown  by  the  data 
contained  in  Table  XLIV  and  Figure  65,  practically  the 
same  order  of  merit  is  maintained  if  we  compare  them  on 
the  basis  of  median  score  and  the  per  cent  of  seniors  belong- 
ing to  each  rank  who  made  scores  above  the  state  median. 

Percent 
30-, 


20- 


RATED 
AorB 


10 


0 


SCHOOLS 

RANKED  32485176 

0 


10- 


RATED 
D,E  orF 


20- 


30 J 


FIQXJBB  65.  —  Per  cent  of  seniors  coming  from  schools  of  various  sizes 
or  ranks  who  obtained  the  highest  (A  or  B)  and  lowest  (D,  E,  or  F) 
intelligence  ratings  on  the  tests. 


SCHOOL  AND   COMMUNITY   DIFFERENCES    227 

We  next  made  a  comparison  between  the  smaller  and 
the  larger  schools  of  the  state.  This  showed  more  clearly  the 
superiority  of  the  city  schools  belonging  to  ranks  2,  3,  and 
4.  Our  data  show  that  these  schools  possess  better  senior 
material  than  the  schools  of  any  other  rank.  That  is  to 
say,  a  greater  percentage  of  the  seniors  coming  from  these 
schools  are  ranked  A  or  B  on  the  intelligence  tests  than 
were  found  in  any  other  rank  of  high  school.  There  are 
also  more  seniors  in  these  schools  who  make  scores  above 
the  state  median  (60  per  cent)  as  against  53  per  cent  in 
the  larger  city  schools,  their  nearest  competitors.  They 
also  excel  in  median  score.  The  median  score  for  all  the 
schools  ranked  2,  3,  and  4  is  141.21,  or  4.21  points  higher 
than  for  the  schools  ranked  1 ,  which  stood  next  to  this  rank. 
It  will  also  be  seen  by  consulting  Table  XLIV  that  there  are 
relatively  more  seniors  belonging  to  these  ranks  who  made 
scores  in  the  mental  tests  entitling  them  to  an  intelligence 
grade  of  A+,  and  that  the  proportion  of  these  highly 
endowed  individuals  was  about  the  same  in  each  of  these 
ranks.  The  smallest  schools  in  the  state,  those  ranked  7 
and  8,  come  next.  Rank  3  had  the  largest  percentage  of 
students  rated  A  or  B,  31.46  per  cent.  The  schools  ranked 
4  had  a  smaller  percentage  of  seniors  rated  A  or  B  than 
either  rank  2  or  3.  But  it  had  more  students  rated  C+ 
than  any  other  rank.  The  schools  belonging  to  rank  2  had 
more  students  rated  C  or  C~,  which  made  the  percentage 
of  students  belonging  to  each  of  these  three  ranks  scoring 
above  the  state  median  about  equal,  as  we  have  noted 
above.  Taken  as  a  whole,  however,  and  comparing  the 
several  ranks  not  merely  on  the  basis  of  central  tendency 


228   INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH  SCHOOL  SENIORS 


but  on  the  proportion  of  seniors  belonging  to  such  rank 
who  possess  each  grade  of  intelligence,  the  schools  ranked 
3  made  the  best  showing,  and  those  ranked  6  the  worst 
showing.  These  and  other  facts  are  shown  by  the  data 
presented  in  Tables  XLIV  and  XLV. 

TABLE  XLV 

PER  CENT  OF  SENIORS  IN  THE  LARGEST  AND  THE  SMALLEST  HIGH 
SCHOOLS  WHO  POSSESS  VARIOUS  GRADES  OP  INTELLIGENCE 


SCOB- 

PER  CENT  RATED 

SCORING 

MEDIAN 

RANKED 

ABOVE 
175 

A+ 

A  or  B 

D,  E, 
or  F 

c+ 

C  or 

c- 

STATE 
MEDIAN 

FOR 

GROUP 

5,  6,  7,  and  8 

1.14 

2.37 

20 

29 

20 

31 

47 

135 

7  and  8  .  . 

1.31 

2.93 

20 

27 

21 

32 

47 

135 

2,  3,  and  4 

2.01 

3.33 

29 

20 

24 

27 

60 

141 

1  

.92 

1.71 

21 

24 

24 

31 

53 

138 

6  

.66 

1.39 

19 

34 

18 

29 

45 

133 

5  and  6  .  . 

.97 

1.81 

20 

32 

19 

29 

46 

135 

2.  Intelligence  of  seniors  coming  from  the  northern, 
central,  and  southern  sections  of  the  state.  The  scores 
made  on  the  intelligence  tests  by  seniors  from  all  schools 
located  in  the  northern,  central,  and  southern  parts  of 
the  state  were  compared  on  the  same  basis  as  has  been 
used  throughout  this  report.  These  sections  are  known 
to  be  different  in  important  economic  respects  and  it 
was  thought  likely  that  they  might  be  equally  different 
from  a  psychological  point  of  view.  The  division  of 
the  state  into  sections  was  made  as  indicated  on  the 
map  shown  in  Figure  80.  The  more  important  results 
obtained  by  the  sectional  comparison  presented  in  detail 
in  Table  XLVI,  and  summarized  in  Table  XLVII,  are 


SCHOOL  AND   COMMUNITY   DIFFERENCES    229 


as  follows :  (1)  All  types  of  schools  in  the  northern  part 
of  the  state  are  superior  to  the  schools  of  corresponding 
rank  in  the  southern  section ;  (2)  northern  schools  of 
all  rank  save  7  and  3  are  superior  in  the  native  mental 
endowment  of  their  senior  classes  to  the  schools  of  the 
central  section;  (3)  the  schools  of  the  central  section 
are  slightly  superior  to  the  schools  of  the  southern  section 
for  all  ranks  except  5,  6,  and  1.  The  difference  in  favor 
of  the  schools  in  the  southern  section  ranked  5  and  6  is 
very  slight,  almost  negligible.  For  rank  1  there  is  but  a 
single  school  in  the  southern  part  of  the  state  which 
stands  decidedly  higher  on  every  basis  of  comparison  than 
the  average  for  schools  of  a  similar  rank  in  the  central 
section.  (Compare  Table  XLVI  below.) 

TABLE  XLVI 

PER  CENT  OF  SENIORS  IN  NORTHERN,  CENTRAL,  AND  SOUTHERN 
SECTIONS  OF  STATE  SCORING  AT  VARIOUS  INTELLIGENCE  LEVELS 


PER  CENT  RATED 

PER 

TYPES  OF 
SCHOOL 

CENT 
SCORING 

ABOVE 

STATE 

MEDIAN 

FOR 

GROUP 

CASES 

NUM- 
BER 

OF 

SCHOOLS 

A+ 

A  or 
B 

D,E, 
or  F 

C+ 

C  or 

c- 

MEDIAN 

Ranks 

Northern 

1.35 

23 

19 

24 

34 

51 

138 

74 

20 

Central 

— 

16 

30 

21 

33 

40 

133 

43 

14 

Southern 

— 

15 

33 

18 

34 

39 

133 

40 

13 

Rank? 

Northern 

1.81 

19 

31 

21 

29 

45 

135 

276 

39 

Central 

5.58 

20 

26 

22 

32 

48 

136 

197 

29 

Southern 

— 

10 

30 

20 

40 

40 

133 

96 

17 

Rank  6 

Northern 

1.35 

19 

32 

20 

29 

44 

134 

594 

43 

Central 

.59 

18 

33 

16 

33 

41 

133 

337 

26 

Southern 

1.05 

18 

36 

19 

27 

43 

134 

285 

23 

230    INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 


TABLE  XLVI  —  Continued 

PER  CENT  OF  SENIORS  IN  NORTHERN,  CENTRAL,  AND  SOUTHERN 
SECTIONS  OF  STATE  SCORING  AT  VARIOUS  INTELLIGENCE  LEVELS 


TYPES  OF 
SCHOOL 

PER  CENT  RATED 

PER 
CENT 
SCORING 

ABOVE 

STATE 
MEDIAN 

MEDIAN 

FOR 

GROUP 

CASES 

NUM- 
BER 

OF 

SCHOOLS 

A+ 

A  or 
B 

D,  E, 
orF 

c+ 

Cor 

c- 

Rank  $ 

Northern 

.45 

24 

20 

23 

33 

56 

139 

441 

18 

Central 

.59 

15 

35 

17 

33 

39 

133 

337 

15 

Southern 

.57 

15 

35 

20 

30 

41 

133 

351 

17 

Rank  4 
Northern 

1.14 

26 

18 

28 

28 

62 

141 

352 

9 

Central 

.79 

23 

18 

32 

27 

61 

142 

253 

7 

Southern 

1.40 

17 

31 

23 

29 

45 

134 

215 

5 

Rank  3 

Northern 

.62 

26 

27 

20 

27 

52 

138 

323 

5 

Central 

.00 

23 

24 

27 

26 

56 

140 

181 

4 

Southern 

.80 

24 

26 

20 

30 

52 

138 

125 

3 

Rank  2 

Northern 

1.50 

27 

16 

25 

32 

58 

141 

264 

3 

Central 

.59 

14 

31 

20 

35 

41 

134 

170 

3 

Southern 

No  schools 

Rank  1 

1 

Northern 

No  schools 

Central 

1.44 

19 

25 

23 

33 

49 

137 

905 

6 

Southern 

— 

25 

9 

38 

28 

70 

143 

130 

1 

If  all  schools  in  each  section  of  the  state  are  combined, 
these  sectional  differences  become  more  apparent.  Table 
XLVII  shows  that  the  northern  section  ranks  decidedly 
higher  than  the  central,  and  the  central  higher  than  the 
southern. 


SCHOOL  AND   COMMUNITY   DIFFERENCES    231 


TABLE  XLVII 

PER   CENT   OP  ^TOTAL   SENIORS  IN   NORTHERN,    CENTRAL,    AND 
SOUTHERN  SECTIONS  SCORING  AT  VARIOUS  INTELLIGENCE  LEVELS 


SECTIONS 

SCORING 

ABOVE 

PER  CENT  RATED 

SCORING 

ABOVE 

STATE 

MEDIAN 
SCORE 

FOR 

175 

A+ 

AorB 

D,  E, 
orF 

c+ 

CorC- 

MEDIAN 

SECTION 

Northern 

.43 

1.12 

23 

24 

23 

30 

52 

138 

Central 

.54 

1.32 

19 

28 

22 

31 

48 

136 

Southern 

.24 

.72 

17 

31 

22 

30 

46 

135 

It  should  also  be  pointed  out  that  the  schools  in  the 
northern  section  are  superior  to  the  schools  in  the  southern 
section  for  every  level  or  grade  of  ability.  This  is  clearly 
shown  by  the  curves  in  Figure  66,  showing  the  record  made 
on  the  tests  by  definite  proportions  of  seniors  representing 
all  the  schools  in  the  northern  and  southern  sections. 
The  curve  for  the  schools  in  the  northern  section  is  higher 
at  every  point  than  the  curve  representing  the  schools  in 
the  southern  section.  The  percentile  curve  for  the  schools 
in  the  central  section  would,  if  drawn,  pass  about  midway 
between  the  curve  for  the  northern  and  southern  sections, 
as  might  be  inferred  from  the  data  given  in  Table  XLVII. 
The  most  striking  and  significant  feature  about  the  curves 
shown  in  Figure  66  is  the  great  divergence  at  the  lower  end 
of  the  distribution  and  their  gradual  convergence  at  the 
higher  levels.  This  is  due  to  the  fact  that  we  find  a  larger 
proportion  of  seniors  in  the  schools  in  the  southern  part 
of  the  state  with  inferior  and  very  inferior  mental  ability 
than  in  the  northern  section,  while  at  the  same  time  the 
range  of  intelligence  for  the  seniors  in  the  southern  section 


232    INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 


of  the  state  extends  higher  than  for  the  northern  section, 
there  being  more  seniors  with  very  superior  mental  ability 
in  the  smaller  schools  of  the  southern  part  of  the  state  than 
in  the  schools  of  the  northern  section. 

The  relative  frequency  of  various  grades  of  ability  in  the 
high  schools  of  the  northern  and  southern  sections  of  the 

TEST  SCORE 
170 


160 


150 


—NORTHERN  SECTION 
— SOUTHERN  SECTION 


5         IO        1O 

PERCENTILES 


4O        50       6O        8O       9O  95  99 


FIGTTBE  66.  —  Curves  showing  scores  made  by  various  percentile  groups 
of  seniors  from  the  northern  and  southern  sections  of  the  state. 


SCHOOL  AND   COMMUNITY   DIFFERENCES    233 


state  is  shown  by  the  curves  in  Figure  67.  The  upper 
curve  represents  all  schools,  regardless  of  rank,  in  the  north- 
ern section;  the  lower  curve  all  schools  in  the  southern 
section.  It  will  be  noted  that  the  schools  in  the  northern 
section  exceed  in  the  proportion  of  students  rated  A+, 
A,  or  B,  while  the  southern  section  has  a  larger  percentage 
of  seniors  rated  D,  E,  and  F.  The  curve  for  the  central 
section  is  not  shown  in  the  figure,  but  would  pass  about 
midway  between  the  other  curves  if  drawn. 

Percent 
25  i 


20  J 


15 


10- 


\ 


NORTHERN 
SOUTHERN 


V 


\ 


\ 


\ 


\ 


A+      A          B 


O       C         C-       D 


E-       F 


INTELLIGENCE  GRADES 


FIGURE  67.  —  Frequency  curves  for  northern  and  southern  sections 
of  the  state  showing  the  percentage  of  seniors  coming  from  each 
section  who  possess  each  grade  of  intelligence  found  among  high 
school  seniors. 


234    INTELLIGENCE    OF   HIGH   SCHOOL   SENIORS 

3.  Intelligence  of  seniors  coming  from  rural  and  city 
high  schools.  The  returns  from  schools  drawing  from 
80  to  100  per  cent  of  their  students  from  the  country  (136 
schools)  were  next  compared  with  city  schools,  ranks  2,  3, 
and  4.  The  distribution  of  the  various  grades  of  intelli- 
gence among  the  senior  students  in  these  two  types  of 
schools  is  shown  in  Table  XLVIII.  To  call  attention  to 
the  rather  marked  difference  in  mental  endowment  pos- 
sessed by  the  students  belonging  to  these  two  types  of 
schools  located  in  different  sections  of  the  state,  we  have 
presented  the  data  for  the  northern,  central,  and  southern 
sections  separately. 

The  136  rural  high  schools  contained  1194  seniors.  For 
this  comparison  enough  city  high  schools  were  selected  at 
random  from  different  sections  of  the  state  to  make  an 
equal  number  of  seniors,  care  being  taken  to  distribute 
them  about  equally  through  different  sections  of  the  state. 
There  were  a  few  more  rural  high  schools  in  the  central  and 
northern  than  in  the  southern  section. 

A  mere  glance  at  the  table  will  show  :  (1)  that  the  rural 
high  schools,  if  taken  as  a  whole,  rate  decidedly  lower  in 
every  section  of  the  state ;  (2)  that  the  seniors  in  both  types 
of  schools  rate  higher  for  the  northern  than  for  the  southern 
section ;  (3)  that  the  central  section  stands  about  midway 
between  the  northern  and  southern  sections ;  (4)  that  the 
rating  for  the  rural  schools  in  the  central  section  is  slightly 
higher  than  for  the  rural  schools  located  in  the  northern 
section. 


SCHOOL  AND   COMMUNITY   DIFFERENCES     235 

TABLE  XL VIII 

PER  CENT  OP   SENIORS  FROM  CITY  AND  RURAL  HIGH  SCHOOLS 
SCORING  AT  VARIOUS  INTELLIGENCE  LEVELS 


TYPE  OF  SCHOOL 

PER  CENT  RATED 

SCORINQ 
ABOVE 

STATE 
MEDIAN 

MEDIAN 
SCORE 

FOR 

GROUP 

A+ 

AorB 

D,  E, 

orF 

C+ 

CorC- 

Northern  Section 


City  . 

1  31 

27 

17 

26 

30 

60 

141 

Rural  

1  13 

20 

31 

20 

29 

45 

134 

Central  Section 


City    . 

.39 

23 

21 

30 

26 

58 

141 

Rural  

241 

20 

29 

20 

31 

46 

135 

Southern  Section 


City  . 

1  10 

21 

23 

30 

26 

49 

136 

Rural  

1  01 

14 

41 

16 

29 

36 

130 

Combining  the  above  results  from  different  sections  of 
the  state,  we  find  that  the  rural  schools  have  a  larger  per- 
centage of  seniors  making  the  most  superior  (A+)  grade 
of  intelligence,  while  the  city  schools  have  proportionally 
more  seniors  making  a  high  average  or  C+  intelligence 
rating.  This  is  clearly  shown  in  Figure  68,  which  indi- 
cates the  percentage  of  seniors  representing  each  type 
of  community  who  possess  each  grade  of  intelligence 
(A+toF). 


236    INTELLIGENCE   OF   HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

The  curves  in  Figure  69  show  the  intelligence  scores  made 
by  different  percentile  groups  representing  the  schools  in 
each  type  of  community  and  show  that  the  range  of  intelli- 
gence is  greater  for  the  rural  schools  than  it  is  for  the  city 

Percent 
30  T 


15 
20 
15 
10 


5- 


0 


RURAL  SCHOOLS  V  \ 


\ 


— 1 —  — I —  — I —  — I —  — I 1 — 

A+      A          B         O       C         C-       D         E          E- 

1NTELLICENCE  GRADES 


FIGURE  68.  —  Frequency  curves  for  136  rural  and  a  representative 
group  of  city  high  schools  showing  percentage  of  senior  class  who 
possess  each  grade  of  intelligence. 

schools.  That  is  to  say,  the  rural  high  schools  have  a 
larger  percentage  of  seniors  possessing  the  lower  grades  of 
ability,  but  they  also  have  a  larger  percentage  possessing 
the  highest  or  A+  grade  of  intelligence.  In  other  words, 
the  rural  schools  contain  a  few  more  seniors  who  are  very 
bright,  and  many  more  seniors  who  possess  the  most  in- 
ferior grades  of  intelligence.  This  is  shown  in  Figure  69 


SCHOOL  AND   COMMUNITY   DIFFERENCES    237 


by  the  rise  of  the  rural  school  curve  above  the  curve 
for  the  city  schools  at  the  95  and  99  percentile  levels 
and  its  extension  below  it  at  the  5,  10,  and  20  percentile 
levels. 

The  fact  that  we  find  a  greater  percentage  of  seniors  in 
the  strictly  rural  high  schools  of  the  state  rated  A+  or 
over  deserves  special  mention.  Taken  in  connection  with 
facts  revealed  in  other  sections  of  this  study,  it  shows  that 

TEST  SCORE 
170  T  / 


160 


ISO- 
HO- 
130- 
120 
110- 
100- 
90- 
80 


* 


CITY  SCHOOLS 

RURAL  SCHOOLS 


15         10        10  15        40       50       60       75       90  95  99 

PERCENTILES 

FIGURE  69.  —  Curves  showing  scores  made  by  various  percentile  groups 
of  seniors,  representing  the  city  and  rural  high  schools  of  the  state. 


the  percentage  of  seniors  with  very  superior  mental  ability 
is  greater  in  the  rural  districts  of  the  state  notwithstanding 
the  fact  that  the  general  level  of  intelligence  in  these  dis- 
tricts is  low.  This  fact,  if  properly  verified  by  future  sur- 
veys, may  throw  light  upon  the  oft-debated  question  as 
to  whether  the  brightest  students  in  our  schools  and 
the  ablest  men  and  women  come  from  the  country  or  city. 
4.  Intelligence  of  seniors  coming  from  schools  located 
in  strictly  agricultural,  manufacturing,  and  mining  com- 
munities. The  mental  test  scores  made  by  seniors 
coming  from  schools  located  in  communities  where  the 
chief  industry  was  manufacturing  were  compared  with 
the  scores  made  by  seniors  representing  schools  located 
in  strictly  agricultural  and  mining  communities.  The 
results  of  this  comparison  are  presented  in  Table  XLIX 
and  Figures  70  and  71.  Table  XLIX  shows  the  per- 
centage of  seniors  representing  each  type  of  community 
who  score  on  the  intelligence  tests  at  the  various  mental 
levels,  also  the  per  cent  belonging  to  the  group  scoring 
above  the  state  median,  and  the  median  score  for  the 

group. 

TABLE  XLIX 

PER  CENT  OF  SENIORS  REPRESENTING  DIFFERENT  TYPES  OF 
COMMUNITIES  SCORING  AT  VARIOUS  INTELLIGENCE  LEVELS 


PER  CENT  RATED 

SCORING 

TYPE  OF 
COMMUNITY 

ABOVE 

STATE 
MEDIAN 

MEDIAN 
SCORE 

CASES 

Above 
175 

A+ 

A    or 
B 

D,  E, 
or  F 

c+ 

C  or 

/~»— 

Manufacturing 

.41 

.82 

24 

17 

28 

31 

60 

141 

259 

Agricultural  .    . 

.72 

1.76 

20 

30 

20 

30 

45 

135 

996 

Mining      .    .    . 

~~ 

10 

34 

19 

37 

41 

126 

149 

SCHOOL   AND   COMMUNITY   DIFFERENCES     239 


Figure  70  shows  the  percentage  of  seniors  coming  from 
each  type  of  community  who  possess  each  grade  of  intelli- 
gence (A+  to  F).  The  outstanding  facts  revealed  by 
these  curves  follow  : 

1  .  The  high  average  scores  made  by  the  seniors  from  the 
regions  where  the  chief  industry  was  manufacturing  as 
Percent 


75 
20 
15 
10  H 


\ 
V\     X 


/ PURE  MANUFACTUR1NG\ 

/ AGRICULTURE 

/ MINING 


^ 

NN 


C- 


E- 


A+      A          B         O       C 

INTELLIGENCE  GRADES 

FIGURE  70.  —  Frequency  curves  for  seniors  coming  from  schools  located 
in  pure  manufacturing,  mining,  and  agricultural  communities.  They 
show  the  percentage  of  seniors  who  possess  each  grade  of  intelligence 
found  among  high  school  seniors. 

compared  with  the  low  average  made  by  the  seniors  from 
mining  and  agricultural  districts.  The  curve  for  the 
manufacturing  group  rises  above  both  other  curves  at  the 
points  indicating  the  B  and  C  grades  of  intelligence  and 
passes  below  them  at  the  points  indicating  the  lowest 
(D,  E,  and  F)  grades  of  intelligence. 


240    INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

2.  The  rather  suprising  and  contrasting  fact  that  there 
were,  nevertheless,  proportionally  more  seniors  represent- 
ing the  agricultural  districts  who  were  rated  A+  or  A  than 
were  found  in  either  of  the  other  groups.     The  percentage 
of  individuals  in  these  schools  who  possess  these  highest 
grades  of  intelligence  was  even  greater  than  for  the  group 
of  city  schools  which  made  the  best  all-round  showing  on 
the  test.     (Compare  also  Figure  71.) 

3.  The  all-round  low  intelligence  rating  of  the  seniors 
coming  from  schools  situated  in  the  mining  districts  of 
the  state. 

Curves  were  also  drawn  (see  Figure  71)  which  show  the 
average  score  made  on  the  tests  by  definite  proportions  of 
the  seniors  representing  each  of  these  types  of  community. 
These  curves  indicate  in  another  way  the  relative  standing 
of  these  community  groups.  It  will  be  seen  that  the 
curve  for  the  manufacturing  group  passes  above  both  the 
other  curves  at  every  percentile  level  save  the  95  and  99 
percentile  points,  where  the  curve  for  the  rural  schools 
rises  above  it. 

The  outstanding  feature  of  these  curves  is  the  fact  that 
the  curve  for  the  rural  schools  drops  so  far  below  both 
other  curves  at  the  lower  percentile  levels  and  rises  above 
them  at  the  95  and  99  percentile  points.  This  shows  again 
that  while  our  rural  high  schools  have  a  greater  proportion 
of  seniors  with  inferior  ability  than  are  found  in  either  of 
the  other  types  of  community,  they  nevertheless  have  a 
greater  per  cent  of  seniors  possessing  the  most  superior 
grades  of  intelligence.  The  same  fact  was  brought  out  in 
Figure  69,  which  shows  that  while  the  rural  high  schools 


SCHOOL  AND  COMMUNITY  DIFFERENCES     241 


ranked  very  much  below  the  city  high  schools  in  general 
level  of  ability,  they  nevertheless  were  superior  to  even 
the  best  city  high  schools  in  the  proportion  of  seniors  who 
possess  the  most  superior  grades  of  mental  ability. 

TEST  SCORE 
170  T  / 


IfaO 
I5O- 
140- 
130- 
120 
110 
100- 
90 


80 


/' 


x- 


" 


PURE  MANUFACTURING 

RURAL  SCHOOLS 

MINING 


I     5         10 
PERCENTILES 


10  75        4O       SO       60       75       90  95  99 


FIGURE  71.  —  Curves  showing  scores  made  by  various  percentile  groups 
of  seniors  representing  manufacturing,  mining,  and  agricultural 
districts. 

6.  Intelligence  of  high  school  seniors  coming  from  the 
best  and  worst  economic  sections  of  the  state.  From 
the  writer's  intimate  knowledge  of  all  sections  of  the 


242   INTELLIGENCE   OF   HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 


state  a  list  of  county  seat  towns  in  the  poorest  agricul- 
tural sections  was  prepared,  [and  the  intelligence  ratings 
earned  by  the  pupils  in  this  group  of  schools  compared 
with  the  scores  made  by  seniors  coming  from  high  schools 
located  in  county  seat  towns,  of  about  the  same  size,  but 
in  the  best  agricultural  districts  of  the  state.  Later  we 
tabulated  the  returns  from  the  schools  located  in  the 
county  seat  towns  of  the  26  counties  which  receive  state  aid 
for  the  support  of  their  schools  because  of  the  recognized 
poverty  of  these  sections.  The  returns  from  all  other 
schools  in  these  subsidized  counties  were  also  tabulated  sep- 
arately and  the  results  compared  with  similar  schools  lo- 
cated in  the  best  agricultural  communities.  See  Table  L. 

TABLE  L 

PER  CENT  OP  SENIORS  FROM  SCHOOLS  LOCATED  IN  THE  BEST  AND 
WORST  ECONOMIC  DISTRICTS  OP  THE  STATE  WHO  SCORED  AT 
THE  VARIOUS  INTELLIGENCE  LEVELS 


SECTIONS 
COMPARED 

SCOR- 
ING 

ABOVE 

175 

PER  CENT  RATED 

SCORING 

ABOVE 

STATE 
MEDIAN 

MEDIAN 

SCORE 

FOR 

GROUP 

No. 
CASES 

A+ 

A  or 
B 

D,  E 
orF 

C+ 

Cor 

c- 

County  seats 

in  richest 

agricultural 

communities 

.22 

.74 

21 

24 

24 

30 

53 

138 

1354 

County  seats 

in  poorest 

agricultural 

communities 

.63 

1.27 

17 

33 

19 

30 

42 

133 

472 

In     state-aided 

counties 

All  county 

seat  schools 

.40 

1.01 

15 

36 

19 

31 

41 

133 

493 

All  other 

schools  .    . 

— 

— 

15 

32 

19 

34 

42 

134 

322 

SCHOOL  AND  COMMUNITY  DIFFERENCES     243 

The  results  of  this  comparison  are  interesting  not  merely 
because  of  the  marked  differences  which  they  show  in 
favor  of  the  schools  located  in  the  better  economic  sections 
of  the  state  but  because  we  find  a  larger  percentage  of  the 
students  in  the  poorer  economic  districts  possessing  very 
superior  mental  ability  than  are  found  in  the  schools  of 
the  better  economic  sections  of  the  state.  This  is  true, 
notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the  general  level  of  ability 
in  these  county  schools  supported  by  the  state  is  very  low, 
and  the  further  fact  that  the  percentage  of  seniors  possess- 
ing very  inferior  grades  of  mental  ability  is  unusually  high 
in  all  these  regions.  The  median  score  for  the  state-aided 
counties,  taken  as  a  whole,  is  5  points  lower  and  the  number 
of  students  who  made  scores  above  the  state  median  is 
1 1  per  cent  less  than  for  the  schools  located  in  the  better 
agricultural  sections.  Notwithstanding  these  facts,  there 
are  proportionally  more  seniors  in  the  high  schools  of  these 
regions  who  possess  the  highest  grade  of  ability  found 
among  the  high  school  seniors  of  the  entire  state. 

6.  Intelligence  of  seniors  coming  from  schools  of  the 
same  size  or  rank.  Of  more  practical  significance,  how- 
ever, than  these  community  and  sectional  differences 
are  the  startling  inequalities  existing  between  the  senior 
classes  from  individual  schools,  even  when  these  schools 
are  of  the  same  size  or  rank  and  when  located  in  the 
same  county  or  city. 

As  stated  in  the  opening  paragraph  of  this  chapter, 
Indiana  educators  have  proceeded  on  the  theory  that  high 
schools  of  every  rank  and  location  should  measure  up  to 
the  same  standard  of  efficiency  and  achievement,  regard- 


244    INTELLIGENCE   OF   HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

less  of  the  character  of  the  pupil  material  with  which  they 
have  to  work.  Our  colleges  and  universities  accept  stu- 
dents without  question  or  examination  from  all  these 
schools  if  they  have  been  commissioned.  The  state 
board  of  education  commissions  these  schools  upon 
the  recommendation  of  the  state  high  school  inspector, 
who  up  to  the  present  time  has  had  no  reliable  method  of 
evaluating  the  results  which  should  be  obtained  in  a  par- 
ticular high  school.  He  has  had  to  rely  on  the  old  and 
unreliable  method  of  expecting  equal  results  from  all  these 
schools,  provided  only  that  they  are  equal  in  material 
equipment  and  in  the  skill  and  training  of  their  teachers. 
What  is,  perhaps,  still  more  unreasonable  and  inefficient 
is  that  superintendents  and  teachers  have  been  endeavor- 
ing to  obtain  similar  results  in  all  these  schools  by  measuring 
the  accomplishment  of  the  school  or  the  results  of  teaching 
by  means  of  achievement  tests.  The  following  figures 
and  data  showing  the  marked  inequalities  in  the  native 
mental  endowment  of  the 'pupils  actually  found  in  the 
various  high  schools  of  the  state,  will  indicate  how  in- 
efficient and  unreasonable  such  practices  are.  To  be  truly 
efficient  and  just  in  our  educational  work  we  must  adapt  the 
work  of  our  schools  to  the  mental  abilities  and  needs  of  our 
pupils,  by  applying  in  our  educational  practice  the  principle 
set. forth  by  the  great  Teacher  in  his  parable  of  the  talents. 
To  ascertain  the  differences  in  mental  capacity  of  the 
seniors  representing  different  individual  schools,  we  com- 
pared their  test  scores  by  the  same  methods  used  in  other 
chapters  of  this  report.  The  more  important  results  of 
these  comparisons  are  presented  below. 


SCHOOL  AND   COMMUNITY  DIFFERENCES     245 


Figure  72  shows  the  percentage  of  seniors  belonging  to 
the  12  schools  ranked  3  who  made  an  intelligence  rating 
of  A  or  B  and  D,  E,  and  F  on  the  mental  tests.  The  schools 
were  arranged  alphabetically  and  are  presented  in  that 
order.  Each  school  is  designated  by  a  letter  of  the  al- 
phabet. 

Percent 
60-, 


RATED 

AorB 


ul 


„      _      _      _      c      -  K 

SCHOOLS  ABCDEFGHIJKL 


TP-T 


FIGURE  72.  —  Per  cent  of  senior  classes  from  all  schools  ranked  3,  who 
possess  the  highest  (A  or  B)  and  lowest  (D,  E,  and  F)  grades  of  in- 
telligence found  among  high  school  seniors. 

Figure  73  gives  a  similar  record  for  26  schools  belong- 
ing to  rank  6.  The  90  schools  belonging  to  this  rank 
were  arranged  in  alphabetical  order  and  the  record  com- 
puted for  the  first  26  schools  of  this  list.  Differences 


246    INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

equally  diverse  and  great  would  appear  if  we  had  taken 
the  last  or  middle  26  schools  belonging  to  this  rank, 
or  if  we  had  selected  schools  from  any  other  rank,  with  one 
or  two  exceptions.  The  larger  high  schools  of  the  state 
not  only  had  proportionally  fewer  students  rated  A+  or  A 
on  the  tests  than  were  found  in  the  rural  and  smaller  high 
schools,  but  they  graduate  fewer  students  possessing  very 
inferior  grades  of  ability.  For  this  reason  the  variations 
in  mental  test  score  for  the  seniors  belonging  to  the 
schools  ranked  1  and  2  do  not  extend  quite  so  far  above 
and  below  the  state  median  as  is  the  case  for  the  schools 
represented  in  Figures  72  and  73.  The  differences  in  the 
native  mental  endowment  of  the  seniors  representing  the 
high  schools  ranked  4,  5,  7,  and  8  are  as  varied  and  great 
as  the  differences  shown  in  Figures  72  and  73,  and  it  should 
be  added  that  inequalities  in  native  mental  endowment 
equally  great  would  appear  if  schools  of  equal  rank  from 
the  same  section  of  the  state  or  from  the  same  community 
had  been  compared.  (See  section  7  below.) 

To  give  some  indication  of  the  variations  in  mental 
ability  found  among  these  same  schools,  we  present  in 
Tables  LI  and  LII  the  median  scores  for  each  of  the  schools 
represented  in  Figures  72  and  73.  These  tables  also  show 
the  per  cent  of  seniors  making  scores  above  the  state 
median.  The  proportion  of  seniors  in  each  of  these  schools 
possessing  average,  that  is  to  say,  C+,  C,  or  C~,  intelligence 
may  be  obtained  for  any  individual  school  by  adding  the 
per  cent  rated  A  or  B  and  D,  E,  or  F,  and  subtracting 
it  from  100. 


SCHOOL  AND   COMMUNITY  DIFFERENCES     247 


TABLE  LI 

PER  CENT  OP  SENIORS  IN  ALL  SCHOOLS  OF  THE  THIRD  RANK 
WHO  SCORE  ABOVE  THE  STATE  MEDIAN 


Individual  schools 
Per    cent   scoring 
above  state  me- 
dian              .  . 

A 

90 
156 

B 

70 

147 

C 

38 
131 

D     E 

29    91 
125  157 

F 

59 
141 

G 

68 
138 

H     I 

75    73 
145  148 

J 

18 
116 

K    L 

74    56 
148  140 

Median  score  .  .  . 

TABLE  LII 

PER  CENT  OF  SENIORS  IN  FIRST  TWENTY-SIX  SCHOOLS  OF  RANK 
Six  WHO  SCORE  ABOVE  STATE  MEDIAN 


Individual  schools     ABCDEFGH.IJKL 
Scoring     above 

state  median  .  44  43  80  100  63  58  81  22  52  12  13  68 
Median  score.  .  133  136  151  161  140  140  148  128  138  123  118  144 

Individual  schools  • 

(Cant.)  .  .MNOPQRSTUVWXY 
Scoring  above 

state  median  65  60  33  —  63  65  24  70  29  35  58  —  18 
Median  score  .  148  110  133  108  139  140  133  148  124  131  138  97  130 


By  marking  off  the  25  and  75  percentile  score  and  show- 
ing the  position  which  this  middle  group  in  each  school 
holds  with  regard  to  our  state  standard,  we  get  an  idea  of 
the  marked  differences  between  these  individual  schools 
when  compared  on  the  basis  of  central  tendency.  Figure 
74  gives  such  data  for  all  schools  belonging  to  rank  3. 
Figure  75  gives  similar  data  for  the  first  23  schools  of 


SCHOOL  AND   COMMUNITY  DIFFERENCES     249 


rank  6.  Differences  equally  great  and  varied  would  appear 
if  any  other  23  schools  had  been  selected.  The  schools  in 
both  figures  are  arranged  in  order  of  excellence,  the  one 
ranking  highest  being  placed  first,  the  one  showing  the 
lowest  average  level  of  mental  ability,  last.  The  letters 


TEST  SCORE 

90       100      110       120 


I3O       1+0      ISO      160      170 


PERCENTILES 


IP 


15 


75 


9O     95 


E-  E          D         C-     C       C+       B        A          A 

INTELLIGENCE  GRADES 

FIGURE  74.  —  Variations  in  the  scores  made  by  the  middle  50  per  cent 
of  seniors  belonging  to  the  twelve  schools  ranked  3. 

at  the  end  of  the  bars  are  key  letters  representing  the 
individual  schools  compared,  and  correspond  to  those 
used  in  Figures  72  and  73.  The  scale  at  the  top  of  the 
figure  is  the  state  standard.  The  scale  at  the  bottom 
indicates  the  variations  in  intelligence  found  among  high 


250   INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL   SENIORS 


10  15 

PERCENTILES 


90     95 


K 


E-  E  D          C-     C 

INTELLIGENCE  GRADES 


0       B 


"A* 


FIGURE  75.  —  Variations  in  the  mental  ratings  of  the  middle  50  per  cent  of 
seniors  belonging  to  the  first  23  of  the  90  schools  in  the  state  ranked  6. 


SCHOOL  AND   COMMUNITY   DIFFERENCES     251 


school  seniors.     It  should  be  remembered  that  these  data 
refer  to  the  same  group  of  schools  compared  in  Figures  72 

Percent 
60  n 


40H 


RATED 
AorB 


20- 


I 


4 


II 


CITIES 
COMPARED 


20- 


RATED 
0,E  orF 


80- 


FiGtrRE  76.  —  Variations  in  mental  ability  of  senior  classes  in  high 
schools  located  in  the  same  city.  The  rank  or  size  of  the  schools 
is  indicated  by  the  figures  at  the  top  of  bars  for  individual  schools. 
Cities  are  represented  by  the  letters  A,  B,  C,  and  D. 

and  73.  There  the  proportion  of  superior  and  inferior 
pupils  was  shown.  Here  variations  in  the  general  level 
of  intelligence  of  the  senior  classes  is  pictured. 


252     INTELLIGENCE   OF   HIGH   SCHOOL   SENIORS 


7.  Intelligence  of  seniors  representing  different  in- 
dividual schools  located  in  the  same  city  or  county. 
Similar  inequalities  in  the  native  mental  endowment  of 

Percent 


60- 


RATED 
AorB 


40- 


20- 


INDIVIDUAL  ° 
SCHOOLS  IN 
COUNTY 


5  , 

ill  i 


6 

I  » 

•      •• 


RATED 
O.E  orF 


I 


THM 


II 


O 
70- 
40- 
60- 
80- 


FIQURE  77.  —  Variations  in  mental  ability  of  senior  classes  from  high 
schools  situated  in  the  same  county  (E,  F,  or  G).  The  size  of  each 
school  is  shown  by  the  number  placed  on  the  vertical  bars.  The 
distance  above  the  horizontal  bar  shows  the  per  cent  possessing 
the  highest,  and  the  distance  below,  the  per  cent  possessing  the 
lowest  grades  of  mental  ability. 

high  school  seniors  appear  if  we  compare  schools  located 
in  the  same  county  or  city.  Figures  76  and  77  picture  the 
per  cent  of  seniors  rated  A  or  B  and  D,  E,  or  F  in  the  high 
schools  of  four  different  cities  (A,  B,  C,  and  D)  and  three 


SCHOOL  AND   COMMUNITY   DIFFERENCES     253 

counties  (E,  F,  and  G)  selected  at  random.  For  each  city 
we  give  results  from  all  its  high  schools ;  for  the  counties 
we  give  results  from  all  the  high  schools  which  gave 
the  tests.  The  rank  of  each  school  is  shown  by  the 
figure  placed  at  the  top  of  the  bar  representing  the 
school. 

Some  indication  of  the  general  level  of  intelligence  of  the 
senior  classes  in  these  various  schools  may  be  obtained  from 
the  data  given  in  Tables  LIII  and  LIV.  Table  LIII  shows 
the  per  cent  of  students  in  each  of  the  city  schools  repre- 
sented in  Figure  76  who  made  scores  on  the  intelligence 
tests  above  the  state  median  •  also  the  median  score  for 
each  school. 


TABLE  LIII 

PER  CENT  OF  SENIORS  IN  DIFFERENT  HIGH  SCHOOLS  LOCATED 
IN  THE  SAME  CITY  SCORING  ABOVE  STATE  MEDIAN 


CITIES 

A 

B 

C 

D 

SCHOOLS 

(1)      (2) 

(1)      (2)      (3) 

(1)      (2) 

(1)      (2) 

Scoring  above 
state  median      .    . 
Median  score  .    .    . 

69      5 
152  134 

67     54    53 
157  146  146 

78    00 
155  100 

42    41 
143  143 

Table  LIV  shows  the  per  cent  of  seniors  in  the  high 
schools  of  the  three  counties  referred  to  in  Figure  77  who 
made  scores  on  the  tests  above  the  state  median;  also 
the  median  scores  for  each  school. 


254     INTELLIGENCE   OF   HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 


TABLE  LIV 

PER  CENT  OP  SENIORS  IN  DIFFERENT  HIGH  SCHOOLS  OP  THE 
SAME  COUNTY  SCORING  ABOVE  STATE  MEDIAN 


COUNTIES 

E 

F 

G 

Schools 

1234567 

1234 

1234 

scoring 
above 

state 

median 

76   66   76   00     4   83   29 

11   59100  46 

40  00   18  35 

Median 

score 

149141144120118148131 

124  146  162  136 

134  96  130  132 

Figure  78  shows  the  record  made  on  the  intelligence 
tests  by  the  middle  50  per  cent  of  seniors  belonging  to 
each  high  school  in  these  same  three  counties  and  four 
others.  The  bars  show  the  range  in  score  for  all  seniors 
representing  the  different  individual  schools.  The  counties 
are  designated  by  letters.  The  vertical  cross-bars  indicate 
the  median  score  for  various  individual  schools  whose 
rating  may  readily  be  compared  with  each  other  and  with 
our  state  standard,  indicated  at  the  top  of  the  figure. 

8.  Distribution  of  different  grades  of  intelligence  in 
individual  schools.  Another  interesting  difference  is 
shown  by  the  various  grades  of  intelligence  possessed  by 
high  school  seniors  belonging  to  the  various  individual 
schools  of  a  particular  county,  city,  or  rank. 

Frequency  tables  were  made  for  all  the  individual  schools 
used  in  the  above  comparison.  These  show  the  percentage 
of  seniors  in  each  school  who  possessed  each  grade  of  in- 
telligence. Such  data  were  also  prepared  for  some  50 


SCHOOL  AND   COMMUNITY   DIFFERENCES     255 


PERCENTILES        5 


10  15 

COUNTY    C 


75 


9O     95 


COUNTY     B 


FIQUBE  78.  —  Scores  made  by  the  middle  50  per  cent  of  seniors  represent- 
ing individual  schools  in  7  representative  counties  selected  at 
random  from  the  92  counties  in  the  state .  Figures  at  right  of 
bars  designate  the  individual  schools. 


256     INTELLIGENCE   OF   HIGH  SCHOOL  SENIORS 

other  individual  schools  selected  at  random  from  our  entire 
list  and  for  schools  belonging  to  the  same  rank.  These 
comparisons  revealed  the  following  facts  with  regard  to 
the  distribution  of  different  grades  of  intelligence  in  partic- 
ular schools : 

1.  In  some  schools  all  members  of  the  senior  class  possess 
a  superior  or  very  high  grade  of  intelligence.     That  is  to 
say,  all  members  of  the  class  will  be  rated  A  or  B,  or  A,  B, 
and  C+ 

2.  In  other  schools  all  members  of  the  senior  class  rank 
very  low,  none  scoring  above  the  median  for  the  state.     In 
a  few  schools  the  entire  senior  class  would  make  scores 
which  entitled  them  to  only  a  D,  E,  or  F  intelligence  rating. 

3.  In  still  other  schools  a  large  proportion  of  all  the  senior 
class  may  possess  a  C,  or  average  grade  of  mental  ability. 

4.  In  a  fourth  type  of  school  there  is  marked  irregularity 
among  the  members  of  the  senior  class.     Some  individuals 
possess  very  superior  mental  ability.    Other  members  of 
the   same  class  will  merit  a  ranking  of  E~  or  F.     This 
situation  is  much  more  likely  to  be  found  in  the  smaller 
high  schools.    The  larger  high  schools  are  better  graded 
and  seem  to  have  eliminated  all  inferior  students  before 
they  reach  the  senior  year.1 

5.  In  some  schools  of  the  latter  type  the  various  grades 
of  intelligence  will  be  found  normally  distributed. 

6.  Many  schools  in  all  sections  of  the  state  and  of  all 
ranks  occupy  various  positions  between  these  extremes. 

'There  is  some  evidence  in  our  data  that  they  may  have  also  elimi- 
nated those  with  the  most  superior  grade  of  intelligence.  No  individuals 
scoring  in  the  highest  one  percentile  group  were  found  in  tbe  larger  high 
schools  of  the  state. 


SCHOOL  AND   COMMUNITY   DIFFERENCES      257 


Most  of  these  facts  are  graphically  presented  in  Figure 
79,  which  shows  the  intelligence  ratings  obtained  by  the 
seniors  in  a  number  of  different  schools,  selected  at  random 


Percent  C 

SCHOOLS 
RANKING 
HIGH 

3             1O            4O            6O           8O           IOO 

I                i                i                t                i 

I 

=1  1 

=1  J 

HIGHtf 
AVERAGE 


BALANCED 


ALL 
AVERAGE 


AVERAGE 
GLOW 


OW 


I 1 RATED  A  orB  i=l  RATED  O,C  or C-flB  RATED  O.EorF 

FIGURE  79.  —  Variations  in  mental  strength  of  the  senior  classes  in 
various  individual  high  schools  shown  by  the  markings  on  the 
horizontal  bars  which  indicate  the  percentage  of  seniors  in  each  type 
of  school  who  possess  different  grades  of  intelligence. 


258     INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

from  rank  6  and  arranged  to  show  these  variations  in 
intelligence  in  individual  schools. 

9.  Geographical  distribution  of  the  most  intelligent 
high  school  seniors  found  hi  the  state.  As  stated  in 
the  introductory  chapter  of  this  report,  our  primary 
purpose  in  making  this  investigation  was  to  locate 
by  means  of  reliable  intelligence  tests  the  most  capable 
boys  and  girls  graduating  from  the  high  schools  of  the 
state,  in  order  that  they  might  be  encouraged  and,  if  need 
be,  helped  financially  to  continue  their  education  in  col- 
lege. For  this  purpose  we  have  considered  those  whose 
mental  test  scores  place  them  in  the  highest  1  and  2 
percentile  groups  for  the  entire  state  as  such  superior  in- 
dividuals. 

It  must,  however,  not  be  assumed  that  group  intelligence 
tests  can  be  used  as  an  instrument  for  making  detailed 
individual  diagnoses.  Such  tests  are  most  useful  for  the 
separation  of  large  groups  of  individuals  into  sections 
representing  various  grades  of  mental  ability.  They  are 
most  reliable  for  differentiating  the  bright  or  very  bright 
members  of  such  groups  from  those  with  lower  grades  of 
intelligence. 

When  an  individual  diagnosis  is  desired,  the  results  of 
a  group  intelligence  test  should  be  supplemented  with 
teachers'  estimates  of  native  mental  ability,  school  success, 
and,  better  still,  with  the  results  of  an  individual  mental 
examination  which  naturally  can  be  made  more  refined, 
inclusive,  and  exact.  For  various  reasons  a  particular 
individual  may  not  do  himself  justice  on  a  group  intelli- 
gence test  and  so  may  make  a  score  indicating  a  grade  of 


SCHOOL  AND   COMMUNITY   DIFFERENCES     259 

intelligence  far  below  that  which  he  actually  possesses. 
But  when  an  individual  makes  a  rating  on  a  reliable  group 
intelligence  scale  which  places  him  in  the  highest  1  or  2 
percentile  group  for  an  entire  state,  we  have  evidence  which 
shows  fairly  conclusively  that  he  possesses  a  very  superior 
grade  of  intelligence. 

It  was  our  purpose  to  locate  these  highly  gifted  individ- 
uals, so  that  then'  special  capacities  and  talents  might  be 
conserved  by  giving  them  the  special  training  and  guidance 
which  their  superior  mental  ability  warrants. 

Individuals  possessing  this  superior  grade  of  intelligence 
were  found  in  every  section  of  the  state ;  in  every  type  of 
high  school  from  the  smallest,  ranked  8,  to  the  largest, 
where  the  graduating  class  numbered  several  hundred.  But 
they  were  not  found  in  equal  proportions  or  in  the  senior 
classes  of  every  school.  These  superior  individuals  come 
from  every  section  and  every  type  of  community  in  the 
state,  —  rural,  manufacturing,  and  urban ;  they  represent 
every  occupational  class  and  all  economic  strata  except 
the  wealthiest  group,  which  had  no  representatives  in  this 
most  superior  class;  they  come  from  the  smallest  and 
most  poorly  equipped  high  schools;  they  were  often  re- 
tarded by  the  school  and  in  general  only  regularly  promoted. 
No  special  provision  seems  to  have  been  made  by  any  of 
the  high  schools  to  locate  them  or  to  administer  to  them  in 
accordance  with  their  intellectual  capacities  and  special 
needs.  In  fact  there  is  considerable  evidence  in  our  data 
that  their  special  abilities  are  often  smothered  or  wasted 
because  the  work  of  the  school  has  not  been  adapted  to 
their  mental  strength  nor  results  demanded  in  proportion 


260     INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL   SENIORS 


to  their  abilities.     They  seem  to  be  able  to  survive  and 

thrive  better  in  the  smaller  and  moderate-sized  high  schools. 

The  geographical  distribution  of  these  specially  endowed 

individuals  for 
the  school  year 
1918-1919  is 
shown  by  the 
light  circles  on 
the  accompanying 
map  (Figure  80), 
which  shows  also 
(the  black  dots 
on  the  map)  the 
location  of  all  the 
high  schools  which 
gave  the  intelli- 
gence tests. 

10.  General 
summary  and  dis- 
cussion of  results. 
The  more  impor- 
tant facts  revealed 
by  the  compari- 

FIGURE  80.  —  Map  of  Indiana   showing    geo-  SOHS        made        in 

graphical    distribution    of    the    brightest  this    chapter   may 
seniors  (white  circles)  and  location    of  all  . 

high  schools  (black  dots)  which  gave  the  be         summarized 

intelligence  tests.  under   the   f()llow_ 

ing  heads :   (a)  community  and  sectional  differences ;   (b) 
differences  between  individual  schools. 

(a)  Community  and  sectional  differences.     The  inequal- 


SCHOOL  AND   COMMUNITY   DIFFERENCES     261 

ities  in  mental  strength  of  the  senior  classes  representing 
different  sections  and  types  of  community  may  be  briefly 
stated  as  follows : 

1.  The  seniors  from  the  schools  in  the  northern  section 
of  the  state  made  a  better  showing  on  the  tests  than  did 
those  from  the  central.     Those  from  the  central  section 
ranked  higher  than  did  those  from  the  southern.     This  is 
true  whether  the  schools  are  considered  as  a  whole  or  by 
ranks  and  the  superiority  holds  whether  we  compare  them 
on  the  basis  of  central  tendency  or  on  the  basis  of  the  per- 
centage who  possess  the  highest  and  lowest  grades  of  mental 
ability  found  among  high  school  seniors.     Considering  the 
regions  as  a  whole,  the  northern  section  of  the  state  is  su- 
perior to  the  central  and  the  central  to  the  southern. 

2.  The  seniors  from  the  urban  centers  of  the  state  and 
from  the  smaller  city  high  schools  ranked  higher  on  the 
tests  than  did  the  seniors  from  rural  high  schools.     The 
average  level  of  intelligence  of  the  group  was  higher  for 
city  schools  and  the  frequency  curves  show  that  the  city 
schools  contain  a  larger  percentage  of  seniors  possessing  the 
higher  intelligence  grades  and  a  smaller  percentage  possess- 
ing  the   lowest.     But   there   are   proportionately    more 
seniors  in  the  rural  high  schools  who  possess  the  highest 
grade  of  intelligence  found  among  the  seniors  of  the  entire 
state.     These  results  suggest  that  while  the  better  stock 
of  the  state  is  congregating  in  the  cities  and  is  engaging  in 
manufacturing,  business,  and  professional  pursuits  rather 
than  in  agricultural,  more  individuals  with  exceptionally 
good  mental  ability  are  found  in  the  country. 

3.  Comparing  the  intelligence  of  the  seniors  coming 


262     INTELLIGENCE   OF   HIGH   SCHOOL   SENIORS 

from  the  purely  manufacturing,  agricultural,  and  mining 
communities  of  the  state,  we  find  the  manufacturing  dis- 
tricts superior  to  the  agricultural,  and  the  agricultural 
superior  to  the  mining.  This  holds  whether  we  compare 
the  seniors  from  these  communities  on  the  basis  of  general 
level  of  intelligence  or  on  the  basis  of  the  range  of  intelli- 
gence for  each  group,  or  the  various  grades  of  mental  ability 
found  within  the  group.  There  are  proportionately  more 
seniors  in  the  manufacturing  communities  rated  A  or  B  than 
in  the  agricultural  and  mining  communities,  and  a  smaller 
percentage  possessing  the  lowest  grades  of  intelligence. 
But  the  agricultural  communities  have  more  than  twice  as 
large  a  percentage  of  seniors  who  rank  in  the  highest  1  per- 
centile  class.  The  mining  communities  have  no  represent- 
atives in  this  class  and  only  half  as  many  rated  A  or  B  as  are 
found  in  the  agricultural  and  manufacturing  communities. 
4.  When  we  compare  the  schools  in  the  best  and  worst 
economic  districts  of  the  state,  we  find  a  proportionately 
larger  number  who  possess  the  higher  grades  of  intelli- 
gence coming  from  the  schools  in  the  richer  counties  than 
are  found  in  the  poorer  economic  districts.  That  is,  the 
seniors  in  the  schools  of  the  former  districts  rank  higher  in 
median  score  and  have  a  larger  percentage  of  individuals 
rated  A  or  B  on  the  tests.  But  the  schools  in  the  poorer 
districts  have  a  decidedly  larger  proportion  of  seniors 
possessing  the  highest  grade  of  intelligence.  Propor- 
tionately twice  as  many  students  from  these  poorer 
districts  belong  in  the  highest  one  percentile  group 
as  were  found  among  the  seniors  coming  from  the  wealthier 
counties.  But  the  proportion  of  seniors  with  superior  and 


SCHOOL  AND   COMMUNITY   DIFFERENCES     263 

high  average  intelligence  is  much  less  and  the  percentage 
possessing  the  lowest  grades  of  intelligence  is  relatively 
high  in  the  less  productive  communities  of  the  state. 

(6)  Differences  between  individual  schools.  Com- 
paring the  mental  strength  of  the  senior  classes  in  schools 
of  different  sizes  or  ranks  and  in  individual  schools  of  the 
same  size  or  rank,  but  located  in  the  same  county  or  city 
or  in  different  sections  of  the  state,  we  found  the  following 
marked  differences  between  them. 

1.  The  senior  classes  from  schools  of  moderate  size 
(ranked  2,  3,  and  4)  possess,  on  the  whole,  the  ablest 
seniors.  Taken  as  a  group  they  not  only  rank  higher  on  the 
mental  tests  than  the  representatives  of  any  other  groups, 
but  contain  a  larger  percentage  of  seniors  possessing  the 
highest  grades  of  intelligence,  and  the  smallest  percentage 
of  seniors  possessing  the  lowest  grades  of  intelligence  found 
in  the  total  group.  Notwithstanding  this  fact,  all  ranks  or 
types  of  high  schools  have  representatives  in  this  high- 
est intelligence  group  regardless  of  their  geographic  and 
economic  situation.  The  smaller  high  schools  have  the 
largest  percentage  of  seniors  possessing  the  lowest  grades 
of  intelligence  found  among  our  .standard  group.  Their 
senior  classes  also  show  the  widest  ranges  of  intelligence. 
But  they  rank  very  high  in  the  percentage  of  seniors  who 
make  the  highest  intelligence  grade.  The  range  of  in- 
telligence in  the  largest  high  schools  is  relatively  small, 
suggesting  that  both  the  brightest  and  dullest  seniors 
have  been  eliminated  before  the  senior  year.1 

1  One  would  at  first  thought  be  inclined  to  explain  this  result  on  the 
hypothesis  that  the  tests  were  not  so  carefully  given  or  that  the  results 


264      INTELLIGENCE   OF   HIGH   SCHOOL   SENIORS 

2.  The  most  striking  and  significant  results  revealed  by 
the  comparisons  made  between  the  intelligence  ratings  of 
seniors  coming  from  different  communities  and  schools  was 
the  marked  inequalities  in  mental  capacity  which  were 
shown  between  the  senior  classes  from  schools  of  the  same 
rank  even  when  located  in  the  same  community  or  city. 
Considering  the  schools  of  any  rank  as  a  class  or  group,  we 
found  individual  schools  in  this  group  where  all  members 
of  its  senior  class  made  scores  on  the  mental  tests  which 
entitled  them  to  an  A  or  B  intelligence  ranking.  Other 
schools  of  the  same  rank  had  no  senior  making  an  intelli- 
gence grade  higher  than  C~  and  occasionally  a  school 
where  all  seniors  made  an  intelligence  rating  of  D,  E,  or  F. 
Other  schools  ranked  at  various  levels  in  between  these 
extremes  and  the  inequalities  hold  whether  we  compare  the 
schools  on  the  basis  of  median  score  or  on  the  basis  of 
the  per  cent  making  the  highest  or  lowest  grades  of  in- 
telligence. For  example,  among  the  first  26  schools  of 
rank  6,  arranged  alphabetically,  we  find  one  school  where 
100  per  cent  of  its  seniors  scored  above  the  state  median 
and  another  school  where  all  its  senior  class  scored  below 
the  state  median.  The  median  score  for  the  first  school 

were  inaccurately  scored  in  the  smaller  schools.  But  this  is  impossible 
because  all  the  test  papers  from  these  schools  were  rescored  in  the  labor- 
atory. The  fact  that  so  many  pupils  made  such  low  records  in  these 
schools  rather  seems  to  indicate  that  instructions  were  followed  in  these 
schools  as  well  as  in  the  larger  schools.  In  fact  this  point  was  tested  by 
comparing  the  scores  on  the  odd  and  even  tests.  This  was  done  for  a 
group  of  these  smaller  schools  and  showed  the  usual  correlation,  demon- 
strating that  the  tests  had  been  consistently  and  carefully  given.  This 
method  also  gave  us  a  check  on  the  general  reliability  of  all  our  results 
and  proved  to  our  satisfaction  that  the  tests  were  carefully  and  uni- 
formly given. 


SCHOOL  AND   COMMUNITY   DIFFERENCES     265 

was  161 ;  for  the  second  108.  In  rank  3  we  find  a 
variation  almost  as  great.  In  school  E,  91  per  cent  of  the 
senior  class  made  scores  above  the  state  median  with  a 
median  score  of  157.  School  G  had  only  18  per  cent 
scoring  above  the  state  median  with  a  median  score  of  116. 
Ranks  4,  5,  7,  and  8  show  variations  equally  great.  But 
such  marked  differences  were  not  found  among  the  larger 
schools  or  among  the  schools  showing  a  wide  range  of  in- 
telligence grades. 

3.  Inequalities  equally  striking  appear  if  we  compare 
individual  schools  located  in  the  same  city.  In  city  A 
(compare  Table  LIII  and  Figure  76)  the  median  score 
for  one  of  its  high  schools  was  152;  for  the  other  134. 
In  the  former,  69  per  cent  of  the  senior  class  scored  above 
the  state  median ;  in  the  latter,  only  5  per  cent.  In  city  C, 
high  school  number  1  had  78  per  cent  of  its  seniors  scoring 
above  the  state  median ;  its  median  score  was  155.  School 
number  2  had  no  seniors  scoring  above  the  state  median 
and  the  median  score  was  only  100  points.1  City  B  had 
three  high  schools ;  numbers  2  and  3  are  almost  identical 
if  we  compare  the  mental  strength  of  their  senior  classes. 
The  median  score  for  each  was  146.  The  per  cent  scoring 
above  the  state  median  was  54  and  53.  But  school  num- 
ber 1  in  this  same  city  had  67  per  cent  of  its  seniors 
scoring  above  the  state  median  with  a  median  score  for 
the  class  of  157.  School  number  2  had  the  highest  per- 
centage of  seniors  making  the  highest  intelligence  rating 
(A).  (Compare  Table  LIII  above.) 

1  School  number  2  in  city  C  was  a  colored  high  school.  The  other  schools 
used  in  these  comparisons  are  not  only  all  white  high  schools,  but  all 
belong  to  the  same  rank. 


266     INTELLIGENCE   OF   HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

4.  Inequalities  equally  striking  appear  if  we  compare 
the  mental  capacity  of  the  senior  classes  in  individual 
schools  located  in  the  same  county.     (See  Table  LIV  and 
Figure  78  above.) 

5.  The  more  important  facts  pertaining  to  the  grades  of 
intelligence  possessed  by  the  senior  classes  in  the  different 
high  schools  and  the  range  in  mental  ability  which  they 
show  have  been  concisely  stated  in  section  8  above.    It 
needs  only  to  be  added  that  there  are  marked  and  signifi- 
cant differences  in  these  respects.    Some  senior  classes  are 
uniformly   bright;     others   are    uniformly    dull.      Some 
classes  are  very  uneven,  showing  a  wide  range  in  mental 
ability.    Most  schools  occupy  positions  between  these 
extremes. 

(c)  Discussion.  The  practical  significance  of  these 
marked  differences  between  sections,  communities,  and 
individual  schools  needs  only  to  be  pointed  out  to  be  ap- 
preciated. The  inequalities  in  mental  capacity  of  classes, 
schools,  or  pupils  in  different  buildings  of  the  same  school 
system,  or  schools  located  in  different  sections  and  com- 
munities of  a  state,  should  be  taken  into  account  in  evaluat- 
ing the  scholastic  accomplishment  of  any  class  or  school. 
No  teacher's  work  should  be  judged  except  in  relation  to 
the  native  mental  capacity  of  the  raw  material  with  which 
she  must  deal. 

The  exact  amounts  of  the  differences  shown  in  this 
chapter  should  not  be  emphasized,  as  our  method  for 
obtaining  them  was  somewhat  crude.  Some  allowance 
should  also  be  made,  perhaps,  for  the  fact  that  the  tests 
were  given  by  so  many  different  individuals.  But  that 


SCHOOL  AND   COMMUNITY   DIFFERENCES     267 

our  results  demonstrate  the  existence  of  such'  class,  com- 
munity, sectional,  and  school  differences  cannot  be  denied. 
Such  inaccuracies  as  may  be  found  in  the  results  presented 
in  this  chapter  might  easily  be  avoided  by  any  city  or 
county  superintendent  wishing  to  make  a  mental  survey 
of  all  his  schools,  merely  by  having  one  person  give  all  the 
tests  and  by  exercising  special  care  to  secure  uniform  pro- 
cedure. 

Such  class  and  community  differences  as  we  have  de- 
scribed should  also  be  taken  into  account  in  evaluating 
the  product  of  these  high  schools  for  admission  to  college. 
Our  results  show  that  the  most  superior  individuals  may 
be  picked  up  in  the  smallest  and  most  poorly  equipped 
high  schools  of  the  state,  and  that  there  are  great  variations 
in  the  native  mental  endowment  of  the  seniors  graduating 
from  the  same  school.  A  college  might  also  well  look  to 
certain  sections  of  the  state  for  its  chief  supply  of  students. 
Moreover,  if  the  colleges  are  to  obtain  and  train  the  ablest 
seniors  in  the  state,  they  must  invent  some  method  of  selec- 
tion better  than  that  of  judging  them  by  their  past  scholas- 
tic attainment.  As  was  shown  in  Chapter  IV  the  best  men- 
tally endowed  young  people  in  the  state  may  not  even  ap- 
ply for  admission  to  college.  They  may  not  even  be 
graduating  from  high  school.  Furthermore,  mere  scholas- 
tic attainment  is  no  guarantee  of  superior  mental  ability. 
It  may  be  attained  in  normal  time  by  an  individual  of  only 
average  ability  or  less,  while  the  genius,  because  the  work 
of  the  high  school  is  ill-adapted  to  his  mental  capacities 
or  intellectual  needs,  will  often  make  only  an  average 
showing  in  his  high  school  work,  sometimes  not  even  that. 


268     INTELLIGENCE   OF   HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

The  importance  of  the  mental  survey  as  a  means  for 
locating  the  best  mentally  endowed  pupils  in  our  schools 
and  as  an  aid  for  conserving  their  special  abilities  to  the 
state  is  beginning  to  be  recognized.  It  provides  a  practi- 
cal and  reliable  method  for  their  selection  which  constitutes 
the  first  necessary  step  in  the  process  of  educating  them  in 
accordance  with  their  mental  ability  and  needs.  It  may 
also  be  used  as  a  means  for  directing  them  towards  the 
work  in  life  which  they  should  undertake.  It  may,  there- 
fore, be  used  in  the  solution  of  some  of  the  most  perplexing 
social  and  educational  problems  which  confront  the  world 
to-day  and  so  become  one  of  the  means  for  conserving  and 
cultivating  the  full  capacities  and  talents  of  all  the  people 
of  the  state. 


CHAPTER  XIII 


IF  the  mental  capacities  and  special  abilities  of  high 
school  seniors  are  to  be  fully  conserved  by  wiser  educational 
and  vocational  guidance,  and  by  the  adaptation  of  edu- 
cational opportunities  to  individual  needs,  the  question  of 
sex  differences  takes  on  new  and  special  significance.  As 
stated  in  the  introductory  chapter,  the  intelligence  scores 
made  by  the  boys  and  girls  were  kept  separate  in  all  our 
comparisons,  in  order  that  a  study  might  be  made  of  all 
sex  differences  revealed  throughout  the  investigation. 

Many  of  the  important  sex  differences  shown  by  our 
comparison  of  the  various  senior  groups  have  already  been 
presented  in  previous  chapters.  These  results  will,  there- 
fore, be  only  briefly  summarized  here,  and  presented,  with 
other  pertinent  facts  bearing  on  the  following  problems : 
(1)  differences  in  native  mental  endowment;  (2)  differ- 
ences in  college  intention ;  (3)  differences  in  school  success ; 
(4)  differences  in  vocational  interest;  (5)  differences  in 
scholastic  interest ;  (6)  differences  between  the  boys  and 
girls  representing  different  economic  and  occupational 
groups;  and  (7)  differences  between  the  intelligence  of 
senior  boys  and  girls  coming  from  different  communities 
and  schools. 


270     INTELLIGENCE   OF   HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 


1.  Differences  in  native  mental  endowment.    Of  the 

5748  seniors  used  in  the  various  comparisons  made  in 
this  investigation,  60  per  cent  (59.9  per  cent)  were  girls 
and  40  per  cent  (40.1  per  cent)  boys.  This  gave  us  a  third 
more  girls  than  boys  for  our  comparative  study  of  the  sexes. 
It  is  therefore  evident  that  more  girls  than  boys  are  grad- 
uating from  the  high  schools  of  the  state  and  that  the 
differences  in  mental  ability  found  cannot  be  taken  as 
typical  of  actual  differences  in  the  mental  capacity  of  the 
sexes.  The  sex  differences  in  general  intelligence  shown 
in  this  study  are,  however,  important. 

It  should  be  stated  at  the  outset  that  in  every  compari- 
son of  the  intelligence  scores  made  throughout  the  entire 
study,  the  record  made  by  the  boys  was  superior  to  that 
made  by  the  girls.  The  amount  of  this  difference  may  be 
computed  from  the  median  scores  for  each  group,  and  from 
the  record  made  by  the  middle  50  per  cent  of  individuals 
belonging  to  each  sex.  The  median  score  for  the  ftoys 
was  138.9  points;  for  the  girls  135.8.  The  range  in  score 
for  the  middle  50  per  cent  was  126  to  150  points  for  the 
boys,  and  123  to  147  for  the  girls.  The  boys  were  also 
superior  at  every  intelligence  level,  as  is  shown  by  the 
different  percentile  scores  given  below. 


PERCENTILE  GROUPS 

TEST  SCORE 

MADE  BY 

1 

5 

10 

25 

50 

75 

90 

95 

99 

Boys      .    .    . 

80 

102 

112 

126 

139 

150 

160 

165 

177 

Girls      .    .    . 

83 

102 

111 

123 

136 

147 

157 

163 

175 

SEX   DIFFERENCES 


271 


Other  differences  in  the  mental  ability  of  the  sexes  are 
shown  by  the  per  cent  belonging  to  each  sex  who  made 
scores  above  the  state  median,  viz.  53.74  per  cent  for  the 
boys  and  47.48  per  cent  for  the  girls.  The  best  indication 
of  the  comparative  mental  strength  of  the  sexes  is  the  per 
cent  of  boys  making  scores  above  the  median  score  for  the 
girls.  This  was  56.2  per  cent,  while  only  41.4  per  cent  of 
the  girls  made  scores  above  the  median  score  for  the  boys. 
If  we  make  a  similar  comparison  for  other  proportionate 
groups  of  boys  and  girls,  we  find  that  the  superiority  of  the 
boys  holds  for  all  regions  of  the  distribution.  This  is  seen 
by  the  data  contained  in  the  following  percentile  table, 
showing  the  per  cent  of  boys  and  girls  who  scored  above 
and  below  various  percentile  groups  of  the  opposite  sex. 

TABLE  LV 

PER  CENT  OF  BOYS  AND  GIRLS  SCORING  ABOVE  AND  BELOW 
VARIOUS  PERCENTILE  GROUPS  OF  THE  OPPOSITE  SEX 


GROUPS 

ABOVE  GIRLS 

BELOW  GIRLS 

90 
Percentile 

75 
Percentile 

Median 

25 
Percentile 

10 
Percentile 

Median 

Boys     .    . 
Girls     .    . 

14 

7 

31 

Above  Boys 

20 

56.2 
41.4 

21 

, 
32 

9 

lelow  Boys 
11 

43.8 
58.6 

The  frequency  curves  for  the  boys  and  girls  are  given 
in  Figure  81.  The  curve  for  the  boys  rises  above  that  for 
the  girls  at  all  points  indicating  the  higher  grades  of  in- 
telligence, and  passes  below  it  at  all  points  indicating  the 


272     INTELLIGENCE   OF   HIGH  SCHOOL  SENIORS 

lowest  grades  of  intelligence.  That  is  to  say,  a  larger 
percentage  of  boys  than  girls  make  these  higher  ratings  on 
the  intelligence  tests,  and  a  smaller  percentage  of  boys 
make  the  lower  ratings  obtained  by  our  total  or  standard 
group. 

A  more  significant  question,  however,  is  the  range  of 
Percent 


15  -\ 
10 
15- 
10- 

5- 

O 


A+      A          B         C+       C         C-       D         E          E-       F 
INTELLIGENCE  GRADES 

FIGURE  81 .  —  Frequency  curves  showing  the  percentage  of  boys  and 
girls  making  each  grade  of  intelligence  found  among  high  school 
seniors. 

intelligence  shown  by  each  sex.  This  is  indicated  by  the 
percentage  of  boys  and  girls  who  made  the  highest  grades 
(A  or  B)  and  the  lowest  grades  of  intelligence  (D,  E,  or  F). 
Of  our  total  group  of  boys,  25  per  cent  were  rated  A  or  B, 
while  only  20  per  cent  of  the  girls  made  this  rating. 
Twenty-three  and  eight-tenths  per  cent  of  the  boys  made 


SEX   DIFFERENCES  273 

an  intelligence  rating  of  D,  E,  or  F,  as  opposed  to  28.4  per 
cent  for  the  girls. 

Carrying  these  comparisons  still  farther  to  the  groups 
rated  A  or  A+  we  find  that  the  higher  in  the  scale  of  in- 
telligence we  go  the  greater  is  the  percentage  of  boys. 
There  were  proportionately  twice  as  many  boys  as  girls 
who  made  intelligence  scores  above  180.  There  were  also 
more  girls  than  boys  making  an  intelligence  grade  of  D  or 
E,  but  the  percentage  of  boys  making  the  lowest  intelligence 
grade  made  by  high  school  seniors  (F)  was  slightly  higher 
for  the  boys  than  for  the  girls — 1.34  and  1.16.  But  the 
range  of  intelligence  extends  lower  in  the  scale  for  the  girls 
than  for  the  boys.  The  duller  girls  seem  better  able  to 
survive  in  high  school  than  the  boys  and  to  succeed  with 
their  work  where  boys  with  equal  mental  ability  fail. 

2.  Differences  in  college  intention.  Of  our  total  group 
of  seniors,  74  per  cent  of  the  boys  and  63  per  cent  of  the 
girls  were  planning  to  go  to  college.  Most  of  the  boys 
going  to  college  (56  per  cent)  had  definitely  selected  the 
college  they  expected  to  attend.  Of  these  37  per  cent 
chose  a  technical  or  professional  school,  while  19  per  cent 
selected  a  college  of  liberal  arts;  44  per  cent  had  not 
decided  what  college  to  attend.  Among  the  girls  going 
to  college  29  per  cent  selected  a  college  of  liberal  arts ;  3  per 
cent  selected  a  professional  or  technical  college,  but 
68  per  cent  had  not  selected  the  college  they  would 
attend. 

The  general  superiority  of  the  boys  over  the  girls  is 
shown  by  the  fact  that  no  matter  what  groups  we  compare  — 
those  going  to  college,  those  not  going,  those  going  to 


274     INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 


colleges  of  liberal  arts,  those  selecting  a  technical  school, 
or  the  group  which  had  not  selected  the  college  they  ex- 
pected to  attend  —  the  boys  in  each  group  make  consist- 
ently higher  scores  on  the  intelligence  tests  than  do  the  girls. 
This  is  true  on  whatever  basis  we  compare  them,  i.e. 

Percent 
30 


75 


2O- 

15 

IO 

5 


0 


\\ 


\ 


\ 


BOYS 
GIRLS 


\ 


A+      A         &         C*       C         C- 

INTELLIGENCE  GRADES 


E- 


FIGURE  82.  —  Frequency  curves  showing  percentage  of  boys  and 
girls  going  to  college  who  possess  each  grade  of  intelligence  (A.+  to 
F)  found  among  high  school  seniors. 

central  tendency  or  percentage  possessing  the  highest  and 
lowest  intelligence  scores. 

The  frequency  curves  for  the  boys  belonging  to  each  of 
the  above-named  groups  pass  above  those  for  the  girls  at 
all  points  indicating  the  higher  grades  of  intelligence  and 
below  them  at  all  points  indicating  the  lower  grades  of 


SEX   DIFFERENCES  275 

intelligence,  as  is  shown  in  the  two  sets  of  curves  given  in 
Figures  82  and  83.  The  same  facts  are  brought  out  in 
Figure  7,  Chapter  IV,  which  shows  the  percentage  of  boys 
and  girls  belonging  to  each  group  who  made  the  highest 
(A  or  B)  and  lowest  (D,  E,  or  F)  intelligence  ratings  made 
by  any  seniors  in  the  state.  We  may  therefore  conclude 

Percent 
30  T 


75 

20- 

15- 

IO 

5 

0 


A+      A          B         C+       C         C-       D          E          E-       F 

INTELLIGENCE  GRADES 

FIGURE  83.  —  Frequency  curves  showing  the  percentage  of  boys  and 
girls  not  going  to  college  who  possess  each  grade  of  intelligence 
(A+  to  F)  found  among  high  school  seniors. 

that  all  the  facts  about  the  intelligence  of  seniors  going 
to  college,  presented  in  Chapter  IV,  hold,  regardless  of  sex, 
namely :  The  brightest  seniors  are  going  to  colleges  of 
liberal  arts.  Those  going  to  college  rank,  in  intelligence, 
slightly  above  those  not  expecting  to  attend.  But  22 


276      INTELLIGENCE    OF   HIGH   SCHOOL   SENIORS 

per  cent  of  the  brightest  boys  and  girls  in  the  state  are 
not  even  planning  to  continue  their  education  beyond 
the  high  school.  Yet  65  per  cent  of  the  boys  and  girls 
possessing  the  lowest  grades  of  intelligence  found  among 
high  school  seniors  are  going  to  college  in  ever  increasing 
numbers.  (Compare  Chapter  IV.) 

3.  Differences  in  school  success.  The  most  interesting 
and  significant  sex  differences  revealed  by  the  survey  are 
shown  by  a  comparison  of  the  intelligence  scores  and 
standing  in  their  school  work.  The  scholastic  record 
which  each  senior  had  made  in  his  high  school  work  is 
shown  in  two  ways : 

(a)  By  the  average  school  marks  obtained  in  the  various 
subjects  studied  in  high  school. 

(6)  By  the  way  each  senior  was  advanced  during  his 
high  school  and  elementary  school  course.  This  is  shown 
by  the  number  of  times  he  was  accelerated,  regularly  pro- 
moted, or  retarded  during  his  school  career. 

(a)  Scholastic  rating  of  the  sexes  compared.  Our  com- 
parative study  of  the  school  marks  made  by  the  boys  and 
girls  shows  that  the  girls  were  consistently  rated  higher 
in  their  high  school  work  than  the  boys,  notwithstand- 
ing the  fact  that  the  boys  belonging  to  every  scholastic 
group  make  higher  scores  on  the  intelligence  tests.  Table 
LVI  giving  the  per  cent  of  boys  and  girls  who  obtained 
various  scholastic  ratings  compares  the  sexes  on  this 
point,  and  shows  that  a  larger  percentage  of  girls  than 
boys  were  rated  excellent  and  high  on  their  high  school 
work,  and  a  smaller  percentage  were  rated  medium 
and  fair. 


SEX   DIFFERENCES 
TABLE  LVI 


277 


PER  CENT  OP  BOYS  AND  GIRLS  OBTAINING  VARIOUS  SCHOLASTIC 
RATINGS  ON  THEIR  HIGH  SCHOOL  WORK 


SCHOLASTIC 
RATING 

EXCELLENT 
(95-100%) 

HIGH 

(90-94%) 

GOOD 

(85-89%) 

MEDIUM 
(80-84%) 

FAIR 

(75-79%) 

POOR 

(60-74%) 

Boys    .    . 
Girls    .    . 

5 

8 

20 
27 

30 
29 

27 

23 

17 
11 

.84 
1.66 

Table  LVII  shows  the  percentage  of  boys  and  girls  be- 
longing to  each  of  these  scholastic  groups  who  made  the 
highest  (A  or  B)  and  lowest  (D,  E,  or  F)  intelligence  grades 
on  the  mental  tests.  The  boys  rank  consistently  higher 
than  the  girls.  But  notwithstanding  this  fact  the  girls 
are  marked  higher  on  their  school  work,  as  indicated  in 
Table  LVI. 

TABLE  LVII 

PER  CENT  OF  BOYS  AND  GIRLS  BELONGING  TO  VARIOUS  SCHOLASTIC 
GROUPS  WHO  POSSESSED  THE  HIGHEST  AND  LOWEST  GRADES  OF 
INTELLIGENCE 


SCHOLASTIC  GROUPS 
COMPARED 

INTELLIGENCE  RATINGS 

A  or  B 

D.  E,  or  F 

c 

Rated 

Boys 

Girls 

Boys 

Girls 

Boys 

Girls 

Excellent    ...        .    . 

48 
33 
24 
19 
12 
3 

42 
25 
16 
13 
9 
4 

8 
14 
22 
30 
36 
52 

11 

21 
28 
37 
41 
45 

44 
53 
54 
51 
52 
45 

47 

54 
56 
50 
50 

57 

High    

Good   

Medium      

Fair  
Poor    .... 

278      INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL   SENIORS 

The  same  fact  was  emphasized  by  our  frequency  tables 
and  curves  prepared  for  the  boys  and  girls  belonging  to  the 
various  scholastic  groups.  The  curves  for  the  boys  be- 
longing to  each  scholastic  group  pass  consistently  above 
the  curves  for  the  girls  at  all  points  indicating  the  higher 
grades  of  intelligence  (A,  B,  and  C+)  and  fall  below  them 
at  all  points  indicating  the  lower  grades. 

(6)  Acceleration  and  retardation.  If  we  measure  the 
school  success  of  our  total  group  of  senior  boys  and  girls 
by  the  number  of  times  they  were  accelerated,  retarded,  or 
regularly  promoted  during  their  school  career,  we  find 
that  more  girls  than  boys  have  been  accelerated  and  fewer 
retarded  in  both  the  high  school  and  elementary  school. 
About  the  same  percentage  of  boys  and  girls  were  regularly 
promoted.  (Compare  Tables  IV  and  VI  in  Chapter  V, 
page  49.)  Yet  the  boys  made  higher  scores  on  the  intelli- 
gence tests  than  did  the  girls  belonging  to  similar  groups. 
This  was  true  regardless  of  where  the  acceleration  or 
retardation  took  place,  and  regardless  of  the  amount  of 
acceleration  or  retardation  that  occurred. 

The  fact  that  the  boys  make  consistently  higher  ratings 
on  the  intelligence  tests  is  clearly  shown  by  the  median 
scores  for  the  several  semester-  and  age-groups  given 
in  Table  LVIII  on  following  page. 

The  same  fact  was  brought  out  when  the  records  made 
by  the  middle  50  per  cent  of  boys  and  girls  belonging  to 
each  of  these  semester-  and  age-groups  were  compared. 
(See  Figures  18  and  19,  Chapter  V.)  These  showed  the  per 
cent  of  boys  and  girls  belonging  to  each  of  these  groups 
rated  A  or  B  and  D,  E,  or  F.  (See  Figures  20  and  21, 


SEX   DIFFERENCES 


279 


TABLE  LVIII 

MEDIAN  SCORE  FOR  THE  BOYS  AND  GIRLS  ACCELERATED  AND  RE- 
TARDED BY  THE  SCHOOL 


GRADUATING  AT 

MEDIAN  5 

CORE  FOB 

GRADUATING  IN 

MEDIAN  S 

CORE    FOR 

Boys 

Girls 

Boys 

Girls 

15 

151 

150 

6  

151 

143 

16           

148 

144 

7  

143 

141 

17        

143 

140 

8  

139 

135 

18  

139 

135 

9  

138 

134 

19 

131 

122 

10                     

137 

119 

20  

129 

122 

20-27  

124 

123 

Chapter  V.)  The  frequency  curves  for  the  various  accel- 
erated and  retarded  groups  indicated  the  same  thing.  The 
curves  for  the  boys  who  were  accelerated  and  retarded  rise 
regularly  above  the  curves  for  the  girls  at  all  points  indicat- 
ing the  higher  grades  of  intelligence  and  drop  below  them 
at  the  points  indicating  the  lowest  grades  of  intelligence. 
(Compare  Figures  22  and  23,  Chapter  V.)  The  follow- 
ing conclusions  may  be  drawn  from  this  study  of  sex  dif- 
ferences in  school  success : 

(1)  The  senior  boys  who  took  the  intelligence  tests  are 
brighter  than  the  girls,  but  the  girls  are  nevertheless  given 
higher  school  marks  and  are  more  rapidly  and  regularly 
promoted  by  the  school. 

(2)  Of  the  boys  accelerated  in  high  school,  twice  as  many 
made  an  intelligence  rating  of  A  or  B  as  did  the  girls  sim- 
ilarly accelerated.     Many  girls  with  inferior  intelligence 


280 

ratings  have  been  accelerated  in  high  school.  Of  the  girls 
graduating  from  high  school  in  three  years  about  12  per 
cent  make  an  intelligence  rating  of  D,  E,  or  F  on  the  mental 
tests.  Among  the  boys  completing  their  high  school 
course  in  the  same  time  only  about  4  per  cent  fall  so  low  on 
the  mental  tests. 

(3)  The  boys  retarded  by  the  high  school  are  much 
brighter  than  the  girls  who  fail  of  promotion.  Of  the  boys 
requiring  ten  or  more  semesters  to  graduate,  21  per  cent 
made  an  intelligence  rating  of  A  or  B.  No  retarded  girls 
made  so  high  an  intelligence  rating  on  the  tests.  If  a 
girl  is  retarded  in  high  school,  we  may  assume  on  the  basis 
of  our  test  results  that  she  probably  possesses  inferior 
intelligence.  In  fact,  58  per  cent  of  the  girls  retarded  in 
high  school  make  the  lowest  grades  of  intelligence.  But 
many  girls  with  inferior  ability  have  been  accelerated  by 
the  high  schools  of  the  state. 

These  facts  seem  to  show  either  that  the  girls  who  have 
the  ability  to  succeed  with  their  school  work  are  more 
likely  to  apply  themselves  than  is  the  case  for  the  boys,  or 
that  the  course  of  study  and  work  of  the  high  school  some- 
how favors  the  girls. 

4.  Sex  differences  in  vocational  interest.  A  few  more 
boys  (64  per  cent)  than  girls  (60  per  cent)  stated  that 
they  had  chosen  their  vocation  in  life.  The  largest  per- 
centage of  boys  chose  engineering  (31  per  cent),  farming 
(25  per  cent),  a  skilled  trade  (13  per  cent),  business  (12 
per  cent),  teaching  (5  per  cent),  law  (5  per  cent),  medi- 
cine (4  per  cent).  The  largest  percentage  of  girls  se- 
lected teaching  (47  per  cent),  clerical  work  (34  per  cent), 


SEX   DIFFERENCES  281 

music  and  art  (7  per  cent),  and  nursing  (5  per  cent).  Only 
sixteen  different  lines  of  work  were  chosen  by  both  sexes, 
fourteen  by  each  sex. 

Comparing  the  intelligence  scores  made  by  the  group  of 
boys  who  selected  a  vocation  in  life  with  the  scores  made 
by  the  group  who  had  not,  we  find  that  the  former  group 
is  only  a  little  superior  in  intelligence  to  the  latter.  But 
the  boys  belonging  to  both  groups  make  a  better  record  on 
the  mental  tests  than  the  girls  belonging  to  the  same  groups. 
There  is,  however,  a  marked  difference  in  the  intelligence 
of  the  boys  and  girls  choosing  different  occupations. 

The  boys  choosing  science,  the  ministry,  and  journalism, 
if  taken  as  a  group,  rank  highest  on  the  intelligence  tests. 
Those  selecting  medicine,  business,  and  farming  rank  low- 
est. Those  electing  law,  engineering,  and  teaching  rank 
in  between  these  other  groups.  The  girls  selecting  journal- 
ism, social  service,  and  law,  taken  as  a  group,  rank  above  all 
others.  The  girls  selecting  clerical  work  and  nursing 
rank  lowest  on  the  intelligence  tests.  The  groups  electing 
teaching  and  medicine  rank  in  between  these  other  groups. 
The  relative  positions  of  all  these  occupational  groups  re- 
main the  same  whether  they  are  compared  on  the  basis  of 
central  tendency  or  percentage  belonging  to  the  group  who 
possess  the  highest  and  lowest  grades  of  intelligence. 

The  brightest  senior  boys  chose  science  and  engineer- 
ing, the  dullest  boys  chose  farming.  Those  selecting 
certain  professions,  notably  medicine,  possess  only  average 
mental  ability  for  high  school  seniors  and  were  on  a  par 
mentally  with  the  group  selecting  a  skilled  trade. 

One  of  the  characteristic  features  of  these  occupational 


282     INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

groups  is  the  wide  range  in  intelligence  shown  by  the  in- 
dividuals choosing  the  same  line  of  work.  A  certain  oc- 
cupational group,  taken  as  a  whole,  might  average  very  low, 
yet  individual  seniors  would  select  that  occupation  who 
possessed  the  highest  grades  of  intelligence.  This  is  true 
for  both  the  girls  and  boys.  Occupational  choice  seems  to 
take  place  quite  irrespective  of  a  knowledge  of  the  mental 
capacity  or  strength  that  is  required  to  succeed  in  the  oc- 
cupation selected.  For  example,  some  of  the  brightest 
senior  girls  in  the  state  select  stenography.  The  general 
level  of  intelligence  of  the  girls  selecting  this  occupation  is 
the  lowest  of  all  occupational  groups.  The  dullest  senior 
girls  in  the  state  chose  teaching  as  their  life  occupation, 
and  similar  inequalities  were  found  among  the  boys  select- 
ing the  same  occupation.  In  some  of  these  occupations 
there  is  opportunity  for  the  exercise  of  exceptional  mental 
qualities.  Other  occupations  chosen  by  the  brightest 
seniors  clearly  require  only  an  average  or  an  inferior  grade 
of  mental  ability  to  succeed.  Such  occupations  are  never- 
theless indiscriminately  chosen  by  the  brightest  boys  and 
girls.  The  dullest  seniors  in  the  state  are,  on  the  other 
hand,  selecting  such  occupations  as  teaching,  nursing, 
and  medicine  in  large  numbers,  occupations  which  clearly 
demand  the  exercise  of  the  best  mental  powers  to  be 
found  among  the  young  people  of  the  entire  state. 

5.  Sex  differences  in  scholastic  interest.  The  scholas- 
tic interests  of  the  sexes  may  be  inferred  in  part 
from  the  high  school  courses  which  the  boys  and  girls 
elect,  but  chiefly  from  the  favorite  high  school  subjects 
chosen  by  each  sex.  The  percentage  of  boys  and  girls 


SEX    DIFFERENCES 


283 


who  were  completing  each  type  of  high  school  course  is 
as  follows : 

TABLE  LIX 

PER  CENT  OP  SENIORS  COMPLETING  EACH  TYPE  OP 
HIGH  SCHOOL  COURSE 


COURSES 

GEN- 
ERAL 

ACADEMIC 

COMMERCIAL 

COLLEGE 
PREPARA- 
TORY 

VOCA- 
TIONAL 

CLAS- 
SICAL 

SCIENTIFIC 

Boys 
Girls 

52 
53 

35 
31 

4 
8 

4 

3 

1.73 
2.15 

1.78 
2.03 

1.30 
.32 

The  boys  graduating  from  each  of  these  courses  rank 
higher  on  the  intelligence  tests  than  do  the  girls.  This 
holds  true  whether  the  sexes  are  compared  on  the  basis  of 
central  tendency  or  on  the  basis  of  the  percentage  belong- 
ing to  the  group  who  possess  the  higher  and  lower  grades 
of  mental  ability.  The  percentage  of  boys  and  girls  be- 
longing to  each  course-group  who  made  an  A  or  B  intelli- 
gence grade  on  the  test  is  as  follows : 


HIGH  SCHOOL 
COURSE 

GEN- 
ERAL 

ACA- 
DEMIC 

COM- 
MERCIAL 

COL- 
LEGE 
PREPAR- 

VOCA- 
TIONAL 

CLAS- 
SICAL 

SCIEN- 
TIFIC 

ATORY 

Boys     .... 

23 

28 

19 

22 

18 

34 

27 

Girls      .... 

19 

22 

15 

14 

15 

26 

23 

It  should  also  be  pointed  out  that  a  larger  percentage  of 
the  girls  belonging  to  each  of  these  course-groups  are  rated 
D,  E,  or  F.  The  scientific,  college  preparatory,  and 
academic  courses  send  the  largest  percentage  of  boys  to 


284      INTELLIGENCE    OF   HIGH   SCHOOL   SENIORS 


college;    the  classical,  scientific,  and  general  course  send 
the  greatest  percentage  of  girls  to  college. 

A  mere  glance  at  Table  LIX  will  show  that  a  larger  per- 
centage of  girls  than  boys  selected  a  commercial,  voca- 
tional, and  classical  course  in  high  school,while  proportion- 
ately more  boys  than  girls  selected  the  academic  and 
scientific  courses. 

Of  more  significance,  however,  is  the  percentage  of  boys 
and  girls  who  choose  particular  subjects  as  their  favorite 
study  in  high  school.  The  favorite  studies  of  the  boys, 
named  in  order  of  preference,  are  science  (30  per  cent), 
mathematics  (28  per  cent),  and  history  (15  per  cent).  The 
favorite  studies  of  the  girls  are  English  (29  per  cent), 
mathematics  (17  per  cent),  commercial  subjects  (13  per 
cent),  foreign  language  and  history  (each  11  per  cent). 
The  complete  scholastic  preferences  for  both  sexes  are 
shown  in  Table  LX. 

TABLE  LX 


FAVORITE 
STUDY 

MATHE- 

-  MATIC8 

ENGLISH 

HIS- 
TORY 

SCIENCE 

PHYSICS 

CHEM- 
ISTRY 

LAN- 
GUAGE 

LATIN 

Boys 
Girls      . 

28 
17 

7 
29 

15 
11 

11 
4 

13.6 
.72 

5.21 

.87 

.86 
6.63 

1.77 
4.71 

FAVORITE 
STUDY 

COM-- 

MERCIAL 

SUB- 
JECTS 

DOMES- 
TIC SUB- 
JECTS 

MAN- 
UAL 
TRAIN- 
ING 

AGRI- 
CULTURE 

BOT- 
ANY 

Music 

AND 

ART 

DEBAT- 
ING 

Boys      .... 

6 

_ 

7 

3.10 

.95 

.91 

.73 

Girls      .... 

13 

9 

— 

.51 

.96 

.69 

.84 

SEX   DIFFERENCES  285 

Comparing  the  intelligence  ratings  of  the  boys  and  girls 
preferring  various  high  school  studies,  we  find  that  the  boys 
preferring  science  and  mathematics  rank  above  all  other 
groups.  Those  selecting  vocational  subjects  rank  lowest. 
The  girls  ranking  highest  on  the  tests  select  Latin  and  for- 
eign language.  The  girls  selecting  vocational  and  com- 
mercial subjects  rank  lowest  on  the  tests.  This  holds  true 
whether  these  groups  are  compared  on  the  basis  of  central 
tendency  or  on  the  basis  of  the  percentage  belonging  to 
the  group  who  possess  the  highest  and  lowest  grades  of 
intelligence.  (Compare  Figures  46, 47,  and  48,  and  Tables 
XXXII  and  XXXIII  in  Chapter  IX.) 

The  brightest  seniors  in  the  entire  state  (all  boys) 
select  mathematics  and  science  as  their  favorite  study  in 
high  school.  The  brightest  girls  select  foreign  language. 

There  is  also  a  marked  difference  between  the  mental 
strength  of  the  boys  and  girls  selecting  the  same  subject. 
The  boys  selecting  mathematics,  chemistry,  commercial 
subjects,  and  general  science  are  far  superior  in  mental 
capacity  to  the  girls  selecting  these  same  subjects ;  while 
the  girls  selecting  foreign  language  and  Latin  are  far  su- 
perior in  intelligence  to  the  boys  choosing  them.  The  boys 
and  girls  selecting  history,  English,  and  the  various  vo- 
cational subjects  are  about  equal  in  mental  strength. 

The  fact  that  the  brightest  seniors  in  the  state  are  boys ; 
that  these  brightest  boys  select  mathematics  and  science 
as  their  favorite  study  in  high  school;  that  the  largest 
percentage  of  boys  select  mathematics  and  science  as 
their  favorite  study  while  the  largest  percentage  of  girls 
select  English;  that  proportionately  five  times  as  many 


286      INTELLIGENCE    OF   HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 


girls  as  boys  select  foreign  language  —  these  facts  all 
point  in  the  direction  of  a  genuine  sex  difference  in  the 
mental  characteristics  possessed  by  the  boys  and  the  girls 
and  suggest  that  some  radical  readjustments  are  needed 
in  the  high  school  work. 

6.  Differences  between  the  boys  and  girls  represent- 
ing various  occupations  and  economic  classes,  (a)  Occu- 
pational groups.  Comparing  the  records  made  on  the 
mental  tests  by  the  boys  and  girls  belonging  to  the  vari- 
ous occupational  groups,  we  find  that  each  occupational 
class  has  about  the  same  proportion  of  boys  and  girls 
in  the  high  school,  with  the  exception  of  the  skilled  artisan, 
day  laborer,  and  business  executive  classes.  (See  Table 
LXI.)  The  skilled  artisan  and  day  laborer  groups  have  a 
larger  percentage  of  girls  than  boys ;  the  business  execu- 
tive class  a  larger  percentage  of  boys. 

TABLE  LXI 

PER  CENT  OF  BOYS  AND  GIRLS  COMING  PROM  DIFFERENT 
OCCUPATIONAL  CLASSES 


OCCUPATIONAL 

CLASSES 

PROFES- 
SIONAL 

CLERI- 
CAL 
WORK- 
ERS 

SALES- 
MEN 

SKILLED 
ARTI- 
SANS 

BUSI- 
NESS 
EXECU- 

DAY 

LABOR- 
ERS 

FARM- 
ERS 

Boys      .... 

6 

4 

6 

17 

20 

8 

39 

Girls      .... 

6 

4 

6 

19 

18 

10 

37 

The  boys  coming  from  each  of  these  occupational  groups 
make  higher  scores  on  the  mental  tests  than  do  the  girls. 
But  the  boys  representing  the  professional,  skilled  artisan, 
business  executive,  and  day  laborer  class  rank  far  above  the 


SEX    DIFFERENCES 


287 


girls  belonging  to  the  same  occupational  classes.  The  su- 
periority of  the  boys  representing  the  other  occupational 
classes  is  about  normal.  It  should  be  added  that  these 
differences  remain  constant  whether  the  groups  are  com- 
pared on  the  basis  of  central  tendency  or  on  the  basis  of 
the  percentage  belonging  to  the  group  who  possess  the 
highest  grades  of  intelligence.  The  percentage  of  boys 
and  girls  belonging  to  the  various  occupational  classes  who 
obtained  the  highest  intelligence  rating  (A  or  B)  on  the 
tests  is  as  follows : 


OCCUPATIONAL 
GROUPS 

PROFES- 
SIONAL 

CLERI- 
CAL 
WORK- 

SALES- 
MEN 

SKILLED 
ARTI- 

BUSI- 
NESS 
EXECU- 

DAY 

LABOR- 

FARM- 
ERS 

ERS 

TIVES 

Boys      .... 

36 

28 

27 

29 

28 

27 

19 

Girls      .... 

27 

25 

23 

20 

19 

16 

18 

The  same  fact  is  brought  out  in  Figure  51,  Chapter  X, 
which  shows  the  score  made  by  the  middle  50  per  cent  of 
boys  and  girls  belonging  to  each  occupational  group.  Com- 
pare also  Figures  52,  54,55,56,  58,  and  59  in  Chapter  X. 
These  show  that  the  boys  representing  the  skilled  artisan 
and  day  laborer  classes  rank  farther  above  the  girls  be- 
longing to  these  groups  than  do  the  boys  representing  the 
other  occupational  groups. 

(6)  Economic  groups  compared.  Comparing  the  num- 
ber of  boys  and  girls  coming  from  the  various  economic 
classes,  we  find  that  a  larger  percentage  of  boys  than  girls 
come  from  homes  of  wealthy  parentage  and  proportion- 
ately more  girls  come  from  homes  where  the  annual  in- 


288      INTELLIGENCE   OF   HIGH   SCHOOL   SENIORS 


come  is  low.  The  percentage  of  our  total  group  of  senior 
boys  and  girls  who  represent  each  economic  class  is  as  fol- 
lows : 


ANNUAL  INCOME  op  PARENTS 


ECONOMIC 

GROUPS 

$4500  and 

$3000- 

$2000- 

$1000- 

$500- 

upwards 

$4500 

$3000 

$2000 

$1000 

Per  cent  of 

boys     .    . 

10 

6 

16 

45 

23 

girls      .    . 

7 

4 

17 

46 

26 

The  boys  belonging  to  each  of  these  economic  groups 
rank  higher  on  the  intelligence  tests  than  do  the  girls,  as 
may  be  seen  from  a  comparison  of  Figures  60  and  62  in 
Chapter  XI.  It  will  be  noticed  also  that  the  boys  repre- 
senting the  higher  income  groups  rank  decidedly  higher 
on  the  intelligence  tests  than  do  the  girls  belonging  to  the 
same  economic  group,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  these 
wealthiest  economic  groups  send  a  relatively  larger  per- 
centage of  boys  to  high  school  than  any  of  the  other  groups. 
We  might  expect  the  boys  from  the  lowest  economic  groups 
to  make  a  better  showing  on  the  mental  tests  than  the 
girls  because  this  group  has  a  larger  percentage  of  girls 
than  boys  in  our  graduating  classes.  But  the  higher 
economic  groups  have  proportionately  more  boys  than  girls 
who  nevertheless  make  scores  on  the  intelligence  tests  far 
superior  to  those  made  by  the  girls.  Taken  as  a  group  the 
boys  from  these  wealthiest  classes  rank  above  the  girls 
in  median  score,  in  the  record  made  by  the  middle  50  per 
cent,  and  in  the  percentage  of  individuals  belonging  to 


SEX   DIFFERENCES  289 

the    group  who    possess   the   highest  grades  of    intelli- 
gence. 

7.  Sex  differences  shown  by  our  comparison  of  dif- 
ferent communities  and  individual  schools.    The  com- 
munity and  sectional  comparisons  revealed  no  new  facts. 
In  each  the  boys  maintain  the  superiority  shown  through- 
out the  study.     Comparisons  between  the  sexes  in  dif- 
ferent schools  revealed  the  following  conditions : 

In  some  schools  the  boys  surpass  the  girls  by  a  wide 
margin.  In  other  schools  the  girls  all  surpass  the  boys. 
In  some  cases  these  differences  are  very  marked.  In 
some  schools  the  mental  ability  of  the  boys  and  girls  is 
about  equal.  In  other  cases  the  range  between  the  best 
and  worst  is  very  great.  In  many  schools  the  distribu- 
tion of  mental  ability  for  one  or  both  sexes  follows  the  nor- 
mal distribution  curve.  In  some  schools  the  inequalities 
in  mental  strength  of  the  members  of  the  senior  class  are 
almost  as  great  as  those  found  among  the  members  of  our 
total  or  standard  group.  In  other  schools  the  range  in 
mental  ability  is  quite  narrow. 

When  we  consider  that  this  is  the  rule  even  in  the 
smaller  schools  the  practical  significance  of  these  group  dif- 
ferences for  superintendents  and  teachers  becomes  evident. 

8.  Discussion.     Four  facts  stand  out  most  prominently 
in  the  above  comparisons  of  the  records  made  on  the  intel- 
ligence tests  by  our  total  group  of  senior  boys  and  girls. 
(1)  The  marked  and  persistent  superiority  shown  by  the 
boys  in  all  these  comparisons.    (2)  The  poor  scholastic  rec- 
ord made  by  this  superior  group  of  boys.     (3)  Certain  sex 
differences  in  special  mental  ability  suggested  by  the  vo- 


290     INTELLIGENCE   OF   HIGH   SCHOOL   SENIORS 

cational  and  scholastic  preferences  of  the  sexes.  (4)  The 
apparent  mental  inequality  of  the  boys  and  girls  represent- 
ing various  occupational  and  economic  classes. 

Since  there  were  a  third  more  girls  than  boys  in  the 
senior  classes  tested,  we  cannot  conclude  that  the  sex  differ- 
ences shown  by  this  select  group  show  typical  sex  differ- 
ences in  mental  ability.  The  most  probable  explanation 
that  can  be  offered  for  the  marked  superiority  of  the  boys, 
taken  as  a  group,  is  that  many  boys  of  the  more  inferior 
ability  dropped  out  of  school  before  reaching  senior  stand- 
ing in  high  school,  while  more  girls  with  inferior  intelligence 
remained  to  complete  their  high  school  course.  This  is 
made  all  the  more  plausible  because  of  the  fact  that  the  girls 
secure  higher  academic  marks  than  the  boys  and  show  in 
other  ways  that  they  succeed  better  with  their  high  school 
work.  This  might  tend  to  drive  the  duller  boys  out  of 
school  while  it  would  permit  many  girls  with  mediocre  abil- 
ity to  remain  until  they  completed  the  high  school  course. 

But  this  explanation  does  not  account  for  the  fact  that 
the  brightest  individuals  in  our  total  group  are  practically 
all  boys.  On  the  above  theory  the  girls  would  have 
greater  opportunity  than  the  boys  of  being  represented  in 
the  superior  groups.  It  appears  to  indicate  a  fundamen- 
tal difference  in  favor  of  the  boys.  It  might  be  thought 
that  our  tests  favored  the  boys,  but  since  girls  in  the  ele- 
mentary grades  make  better  scores  on  the  same  group  of 
tests  this  objection  would  have  no  weight.  The  more 
rapid  development  of  the  girls  under  fourteen  would 
hardly  be  sufficient  to  account  for  the  results,  if  the  tests 
actually  favored  the  boys. 


SEX   DIFFERENCES  291 

The  fact  that  the  boys  rank  higher  on  the  mental  tests 
than  do  the  girls,  while  the  girls  are  rated  higher  in  their 
school  work  and  so  are  more  often  accelerated  and  less 
often  retarded,  may  be  explained  in  a  number  of  ways. 
(1)  The  school  work  may  be  better  adapted  to  the  special 
interests  and  abilities  of  the  girls.  By  the  curriculum 
given,  by  excessive  memory  work,  and  by  routine  proce- 
dure, the  high  school  work  may  appeal  more  strongly  to  the 
interests  and  special  abilities  of  the  girls.  (2)  The  girls 
may  possess  special  mental  characteristics  necessary  for 
school  success — such  as  good  memories,  perseverance,  con- 
scientiousness, etc. — not  so  generally  possessed  by  the  boys. 
(3)  The  school  may  fail  to  reach  and  appeal  to  the  real 
needs  and  interest  of  the  boys  as  well  as  it  does  to  the 
girls.  Whatever  the  causes,  they  should  be  determined, 
especially  the  factors  which  make  a  seemingly  superior 
group  of  boys  fail  where  a  mentally  inferior  group  of  girls 
succeed.  The  causes  for  this  situation  should  be  accu- 
rately determined  and  an  adjustment  made  which  would 
prevent  in  the  future  this  great  social  and  human  waste. 

That  the  brightest  boys  prefer  mathematics  and  science 
while  the  brightest  girls  prefer  Latin  and  English  suggests 
a  real  and  perhaps  a  fundamental  sex  difference  in  mental 
capacity,  which  can  only  be  accurately  determined  by 
further  psychological  investigation.  It  is  more  than  likely 
that  there  are  certain  mental  characteristics  or  abilities 
in  which  men  excel  as  a  class,  and  others  in  which  women 
are  clearly  superior.  It  should  be  determined  by  careful 
experimentation  whether  or  not  this  is  the  case  and  in 
what  respects  the  sexes  differ.  Future  mental  surveys 


292      INTELLIGENCE    OF   HIGH   SCHOOL   SENIORS 

and  all  experimental  work  in  psychology  should  take  this 
problem  into  account. 

The  fourth  result  revealed  by  this  comparative  study 
of  the  intelligence  scores  of  the  sexes  is  socially  and  bio- 
logically significant.  The  fact  that  the  boys  from  the  day 
laborer  and  skilled  artisan  class  make  a  better  rating  on 
the  intelligence  tests  than  the  girls  representing  these  same 
occupational  groups  suggests  either  that  many  of  the  boys 
coming  from  these  occupational  groups  are  not  attending 
high  school  or  that  they  have  dropped  out  before  reaching 
senior  standing  to  go  to  work  while  their  equally  dull  sis- 
ters remain  in  school.  This  hypothesis  will,  however,  not 
explain  the  marked  mental  superiority  of  the  boys  coming 
from  the  professional  and  business  executive  groups,  for 
here  we  have  a  higher  percentage  of  boys  representing 
these  occupational  groups.  We  also  find  that  the  boys 
representing  the  wealthier  groups  rank  much  higher  on 
the  mental  tests  than  do  the  girls  representing  identical 
groups.  We  would  naturally  expect  the  fathers  of  these 
boys,  the  professional  men,  the  business  executives,  and 
money  makers  to  possess  more  than  average  mental  ability, 
but  whether  this  fact  could  affect  the  heredity  of  the  boys 
more  than  that  of  the  girls  we  must  leave  for  the  biologists 
to  answer.  The  fact  is  that  the  boys  belonging  to  these 
professional  and  wealthier  groups  make  decidedly  higher 
scores  on  our  intelligence  tests  than  do  the  girls  coming 
from  the  same  occupational  and  economic  classes,  even 
when  these  groups  seem  to  have  more  than  their  normal 
quota  of  boys  in  the  high  school. 


PART  III 

GENERAL  CONCLUSION  AND  DISCUSSION 
OF  RESULTS 

CHAPTER  XIV 
SITUATION  REVEALED  BY  THE  MENTAL  SURVEY 

IN  Parts  I  and  II  of  this  report  we  have  given  little  more 
than  a  bare  statement  of  the  aims  of  the  survey  and  the 
results  which  our  study  of  the  intelligence  of  high  school 
seniors  has  revealed.  In  the  present  section  we  shall 
present  the  conclusions  which  may  be  drawn  from  the 
foregoing  data  and  discuss  our  results  in  the  light  of  other 
investigations  and  certain  social  and  educational  problems 
of  far-reaching  practical  importance  to  the  state. 

1.  High  school  seniors  a  highly  selected  group.  The 
first  important  fact  which  stands  out  prominently  in  our 
results  is  that  high  school  seniors,  and  to  a  marked  degree 
all  high  school  students,  are  a  select  group  of  young  people. 
The  high  schools  of  the  state  are  in  a  real  sense  class  schools, 
planned  and  conducted  for  young  people  who  possess  more 
than  average  mental  capacity  or  who  possess  native  mental 
ability  of  a  certain  sort.  All  occupational  and  economic 
classes  found  in  the  state  are  represented  in  these  schools 

293 


294      INTELLIGENCE   OF   HIGH   SCHOOL   SENIORS 

and  in  the  senior  classes  of  these  schools  in  so  far  as  they 
have  children  of  the  mental  caliber  and  mental  type  which 
the  high  school  conserves.  But  school  statistics  show 
that  relatively  few  pupils  who  enter  the  public  schools 
remain  in  school  long  enough  to  enter  high  school,  that  of 
those  entering  the  high  school  about  one-third  drop  out 
the  first  year,  and  that  on  the  average  only  about  10  or 
15  per  cent  of  those  who  started  in  the  first  grade  remain 
to  complete  a  high  school  course.1 

It  has  also  been  shown  that  most  of  this  elimination 
before  and  after  entrance  to  high  school  is  due  either  to 
inferior  mental  ability  or  to  a  lack  of  the  particular  type  of 
ability  which  the  high  schools  foster.2  Proctor  showed  that 
students  with  an  I.  Q.  below  90  rarely  enter  high  school 
and  that  those  with  an  I.  Q.  below  100  usually  drop  out 
during  the  first  year.  We  may  conclude  that  the  high 
school  seniors  we  tested  in  this  investigation  were  a  highly 
selected  group,  mentally  superior  to  even  the  average 
high  school  student.  They  are  the  best  of  a  select  group  of 
superior  individuals  and  represent  the  best  mentally  en- 
dowed young  people  in  the  state  so  far  as  the  high  schools 
are  able  to  select  and  conserve  them. 

That  they  possess  a  rather  special  type  of  mental  en- 
dowment is  suggested  by  the  fact  that  different  school  sub- 
jects (e.g.  the  academic  and  vocational)  have  been  shown 
to  require  for  success  different  grades  and  perhaps  kinds  of 
mental  ability.  And  since  our  high  schools  have  developed 

1  Strayer,  D.  D.,  Age  and  Grade  Census  of  Schools  and  Colleges,  Bul- 
letin No.  451,  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education,  p.  65. 

2  Compare  L.  M.  Terman's  review  of  "Literature  and  Studies,  Intelli- 
gence of  School  Children,"  Houghton  Mifflin  Co.,  1920,  pp.  86-89. 


SITUATION   REVEALED   BY   SURVEY  295 

only  certain  types  of  curricula,  the  talents  and  mental 
capacities  of  young  people  with  special  mechanical, 
musical,  artistic,  and  other  special  capacities  and  interests 
have  not,  as  a  rule,  been  conserved  and  cultivated  by  the 
high  school.  Students  with  these  types  of  special  mental 
ability  were  rarely  represented  in  the  senior  classes  tested, 
as  was  shown  in  Chapters  VII  and  VIII. 

2.  Individual  differences  among  high  school  seniors. 
Notwithstanding  this  selective  feature  of  the  high  school, 
which  makes  it  possible  for  only  the  "fittest"  to  survive 
until  graduation  day  by  the  constant  elimination  of  those 
with  the  more  inferior  grades  of  mental  ability,  marked 
individual  differences  in  intellectual  capacity  occur  among 
the  members  of  any  single  senior  class,  between  the  senior 
classes  representing  different  schools,  and  the  seniors  com- 
ing from  different  communities  and  different  sections  of 
the  state.     In  fact,  the  range  of  individual  differences 
found  among  this  selected  group  is  almost  as  wide  as  that 
existing  among  any  group  of  unselected  individuals  that 
has  been  tested.     Five  per  cent  of  our  total  group  made  a 
score  on  the  intelligence  tests  above  164  points  out  of  a 
possible  score  of  190.     Some  individuals  fell  as  low  as  40. 
Half  of  our  total  group  made  scores  ranging  from  124  to 
148  points ;  5  per  cent  made  scores  ranging  from  40  to  102. 
Two  per  cent  of  the  total  group  made  the  superior  grade  of 
A+  intelligence  for  high  school  seniors. 

3.  Distribution  of  seniors  with  the  most  superior  grade 
of  intelligence.     Individuals  with  this  most  superior  grade 
of  intelligence,  i.e.  those  whose  mental  test  scores  placed 
them  in  the  highest  1  or  2  percentile  group,  were  found  in 


296     INTELLIGENCE   OF   HIGH   SCHOOL   SENIORS 

every  section  of  the  state;  in  every  kind  of  high  school 
from  the  smallest  and  weakest  to  the  largest  and  best ;  in 
every  type  of  community  —  rural,  manufacturing,  and  ur- 
ban ;  in  every  occupational  class ;  and  in  all  economic  strata 
except  the  wealthiest;  though  not  in  equal  pro- 
portions. They  were  not  found  in  all  individual  high 
schools  of  the  state  nor  in  every  senior  class,  but  there  is 
evidence  that  a  proportionately  greater  number  of  in- 
dividuals belonging  to  this  most  superior  group  come  from 
the  rural  and  agricultural  sections  of  the  state  than  from 
any  other  type  of  community. 

4.  Special  abilities  of  the  brightest  seniors  not  fully 
conserved.  A  fourth  fact  which  stands  out  prominently 
in  our  results  is  that  the  high  schools  are  imperfectly 
adapted  to  the  varied  capacities,  interests,  and  vocational 
needs  of  their  students.  They  accelerate  too  few  of  their 
students.  The  brightest  seniors  in  the  state  are  not  se- 
lected either  by  the  high  school  or  the  elementary  school 
for  special  advancement.  Those  accelerated  possess,  as  a 
rule,  only  a  high  average  grade  of  intelligence,  while  some 
members  of  the  most  superior  groups  of  seniors  were  re- 
tarded by  the  school  one  or  more  times.  A  few  individuals 
with  inferior  ability  have  been  accelerated  by  the  school, 
while  practically  all  (91  per  cent)  of  the  seniors  possessing 
the  most  superior  grades  of  intelligence  were  only  regularly 
promoted  along  with  those  who  possess  the  most  inferior 
grades  of  mental  ability  found  among  high  school  seniors. 
Summarizing  all  results  on  this  point,  we  find  that  more 
than  twice  as  many  seniors  were  kept  four  full  years  on 
their  high  school  course  as  possessed  an  average  grade  of 


SITUATION   REVEALED  BY   SURVEY          297 

intelligence.  About  seven  times  as  many  possessed  the 
most  superior  grades  of  intelligence  as  were  actually  per- 
mitted to  shorten  their  high  school  course,  while  less  than 
one-third  of  the  group  possessing  the  most  inferior  grades 
of  intelligence  were  actually  retarded  by  the  high  school. 

We  may  conclude  either  that  individuals  with  very 
superior  mental  ability  cannot  be  easily  and  surely  located 
by  teachers  and  school  officials  or  that  they  possess  no 
adequate  idea  with  regard  to  what  might  reasonably  be 
expected  from  or  done  for  such  superior  individuals.  Our 
data  show  that  many  seniors  in  the  320  high  schools  tested 
have  been  working  far  below  the  level  of  their  best  standard 
of  achievement,  and  hence  are  acquiring  habits  of  ineffi- 
ciency because  their  high  school  work  is  so  poorly  adapted 
to  their  intellectual  capacities  and  needs.  It  seems  to  be 
a  habit  of  high  school  officials  to  keep  their  students  four 
full  years  on  the  course  regardless  of  their  ability  to  do  the 
work,  thereby  encouraging  the  formation  of  habits  of 
mental  laziness,  which  will  serve  as  a  permanent  handicap 
to  the  realization  of  the  best  potentialities  of  their  most 
superior  students. 

That  the  high  schools  of  the  state  are  not  succeeding  in 
securing  from  their  students  results  commensurate  with 
then"  actual  ability  was  further  shown  by  our  comparisons 
of  each  senior's  intelligence  score  with  his  scholastic  rec- 
ord. These  comparisons  showed  that  while  the  correla- 
tion between  native  mental  ability  and  school  success  was 
in  general  rather  high,  many  students  who  give  unmistak- 
able signs  of  possessing  superior  mental  ability  fail  in  their 
school  work,  while  others  with  inferior  ability  are  eminently 


298      INTELLIGENCE   OF   HIGH   SCHOOL   SENIORS 

successful.  Many  boys  with  very  superior  mental  ability 
make  poor  or  mediocre  records  in  high  school,  while  girls 
with  greatly  inferior  mental  ability  surpass  them. 

These  facts,  we  believe,  cannot  be  fully  accounted  for 
by  assuming  that  the  girls  and  the  individual  seniors  who 
were  more  successful  with  their  school  work  possess  men- 
tal characteristics  important  for  school  success  lacking  in 
those  who  fail  in  their  school  work  or  possessed  by  them  in 
a  much  less  degree.  They  doubtless  mean  that  the  work 
of  the  high  school  is  at  present  ill  adapted  to  the  interests 
and  intellectual  needs  of  many  superior  students  (nearly 
all  boys)  who  fail  or  make  a  poor  scholastic  record  in  high 
school. 

It  has  also  been  shown  in  the  preceding  chapters  that 
this  maladjustment  is  worse  in  the  high  school  than  in  the 
elementary  grades,  a  most  significant  fact  when  we  reflect 
that  the  most  superior  youths  of  the  state  are  found  in  the 
high  school,  where  they  are  not  being  dealt  with  on  the 
basis  of  mental  strength  or  intellectual  interests.  This 
comes  about,  in  part,  because  the  individuals  with  the 
most  superior  grades  of  intelligence  cannot  be  easily  and 
surely  located ;  in  part,  because  teachers  and  school  officials 
do  not  realize  what  should  be  expected  from  young  people 
who  differ  so  greatly  in  intellectual  capacity  or  what  should 
be  done  for  individuals  possessing  such  superior  grades  of 
mental  ability  to  induce  them  to  put  forth  their  best  efforts 
and  so  obtain  results  commensurate  with  their  ability. 

5.  Brightest  seniors  not  going  to  college.  It  is  still 
more  significant  that  so  many  of  this  most  superior  group 
of  high  school  seniors  will  not  attend  college,  while  those 


SITUATION   REVEALED   BY   SURVEY          299 

with  the  most  inferior  grades  of  intelligence  are  planning 
to  attend,  in  ever  increasing  numbers.1  Twenty-five  per 
cent  of  the  brightest  seniors  found  in  the  entire  state  said 
they  were  not  planning  to  attend  college  at  all,  while  65  to 
70  per  cent  of  the  dullest  seniors  had  definitely  decided  to 
go  to  college,  most  of  them  having  already  selected  the 
college  they  expected  to  attend. 

No  systematic  attempt  has  hitherto  been  made  by  the 
colleges  of  this  or  any  other  state  to  locate  definitely 
the  high  school  seniors  who  possess  the  most  superior 
grades  of  intelligence  or  to  make  suitable  provisions  for 
conserving  their  special  mental  abilities  by  the  right  kind 
of  education  or  training.  Some  colleges  and  universities 
use  the  results  of  intelligence  tests  as  requirements  for 
admission.  But  such  attempts  at  selection  conserve  only 
the  best  of  those  who  apply  for  admission.  They  do  not 
reach  the  superior  individuals  who  do  not  go  to  college, 
many  of  whom,  doubtless,  have  been  eliminated  from  our 
schools  even  before  completing  a  high  school  course.  It  is 
the  fact  that  the  best  young  people  have  not  been  selected 
and  encouraged  to  attend  our  colleges  and  universities, 
wThile  large  numbers  of  those  with  inferior  grades  of  mental 
ability  have  been  flocking  to  our  colleges  in  ever  increasing 
numbers,  which  accounts  for  a  situation  prevalent  in 
many  colleges  and  universities  to-day  —  a  situation  where 
we  have  literally  thousands  of  students  interested  in  little 
else  than  having  a  good  time  for  three  or  four  years,  "  mak- 

1  Since  the  number  of  individuals  in  any  state  who  possess  superior 
and  very  superior  ability  is  limited,  the  marked  increase  in  attendance 
in  our  colleges  must  come  from  those  who  possess  the  more  inferior  grades 
of  intelligence. 


300      INTELLIGENCE   OF   HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

ing  a  fraternity,"  or  converting  the  college,  so  far  as  lies 
within  their  power,  into  a  mere  fashionable  club  for  the 
unambitious  well-to-do  youths  of  our  land. 

Most  colleges  and  universities  have  taken  definite  steps 
to  meet  this  situation  by  raising  their  standards  of  scholar- 
ship. In  this  manner  large  numbers  of  students  who  are 
intellectually  unable  to  do  the  work  or  who  are  not  inter- 
ested in  the  work  are  eliminated  each  year.  But  few  in- 
stitutions make  any  pretense  of  adjusting  their  work  to 
the  special  abilities  of  their  brightest  students,  except  by 
occasionally  permitting  ambitious  students  to  do  more 
than  the  average  amount  of  work,  and  so  to  complete  their 
college  course  in  less  than  normal  time.  The  latter  plan 
is  pretty  generally  in  vogue,  but  at  no  college,  to  the  writer's 
knowledge,  is  it  so  administered  that  the  committee  who 
grants  the  permission  to  take  extra  studies  can  actually 
ascertain  what  might  reasonably  be  expected  from  the 
student  who  is  asking  for  this  privilege.  The  only  cri- 
terion of  judgment  used  is  the  student's  past  scholastic 
record.  His  real  intellectual  capacity,  if  considered  at  all, 
is  estimated  on  an  insufficient  basis.  So  far  as  the  writer 
is  aware,  no  means  are  at  present  available  in  any  univer- 
sity whereby  those  students  who  could  do  three  or  four 
times  the  amount  of  work  done  by  the  average  student 
are  required  to  take  extra  work  or  in  other  ways  helped 
to  make  the  most  of  their  superior  ability.  No  machinery 
is  at  present  available  for  convincing  professors  and  in- 
structors of.  the  fact  that  such  students,  if  given  the  oppor- 
tunity, could  and  would  do  such  a  superior  grade  of  work. 
Neither  do  we  have  any  administrative  machinery  within 


SITUATION   REVEALED   BY   SURVEY          301 

the  college  for  locating  such  superior  students  in  their 
freshman  year  or  ascertaining  with  scientific  exactness 
what  might  reasonably  be  expected  from  individuals  with 
their  type  of  ability.  No  method  has  yet  been  devised 
to  determine  what  ought  to  be  done  for  such  superior  in- 
dividuals, for  the  simple  reason  that  up  to  the  present 
time  we  have  had  no  reliable  way  of  locating  them. 

It  should  be  added  that  most  colleges  and  universities, 
through  their  deans,  administrative  officers,  and  individual 
instructors,  are  striving  to  solve  this  problem,  which,  be- 
cause of  its  complexity  and  delicacy,  presents  difficulties 
almost  insurmountable.  For  its  solution  the  technique 
and  method  of  the  mental  survey,  recommended  below, 
comes  as  an  invaluable  instrument.  For  as  the  method 
of  the  survey  is  improved,  we  shall  be  enabled  not  merely 
to  locate  and  conserve  the  talents  and  capacities  of  the 
best  young  people  in  the  state,  but  to  evaluate  the  work  of 
all  college  students  in  the  light  of  their  native  mental  en- 
dowment, and  so  to  get  a  more  accurate  measure  of  what 
may  reasonably  be  expected  from  students,  who  vary  so 
greatly  in  native  mental  ability. 

6.  Ablest  students  not  located  by  the  high  school.  It 
is  also  true  that  few  provisions  are  made  at  present  by  our 
high  schools  to  locate  the  students  who  are  equipped  best 
mentally ;  or  to  minister  to  them  in  accordance  with  their 
special  capacities  and  individual  needs.  There  is,  on 
the  other  hand,  considerable  evidence  in  our  data  that  the 
special  abilities  of  the  most  superior  students  are  often 
smothered  by  the  leveling-down  process  which  is  so  popular 
in  our  schools,  and  by  the  fact  that  the  work  of  the  school 


302     INTELLIGENCE    OF   HIGH   SCHOOL   SENIORS 

is  not  adapted  to  their  mental  capacity  nor  results  de- 
manded commensurate  with  their  ability. 

7.  Vocational  needs  of  individuals  and  state  not  ade- 
quately met.  Another  situation  revealed  by  the  survey 
is  the  fact  that  high  school  students  are  not  being  properly 
equipped  by  the  school  for  their  vocation  in  life.  We  have 
just  pointed  out  that  neither  in  the  high  school  nor  in  the 
college  is  the  work  well  adapted  to  the  mental  ability  of 
the  students;  that  their  education  and  training  is  not 
being  carried  on  in  strict  accordance  with  the  mental 
capacity  of  the  individual  students;  that  the  brightest 
students  are  not  being  adequately  taken  care  of.  The 
plan  has  been  to  measure  educational  progress  by  the  time 
required  to  complete  a  set  traditional  course,  originally 
designed  for  a  very  special  group  of  individuals,  not  an 
unselected  group,  composed  of  individuals  possessing  all 
grades  and  kinds  of  mental  and  physical  ability,  such  as 
we  meet  when  we  organize  a  school  in  a  democracy.  Our 
results  clearly  show  that  the  work  of  our  schools  is  not  so 
organized  or  administered  as  to  fit  individuals,  who  vary 
so  greatly  in  their  native  mental  and  physical  endowment, 
most  economically  and  efficiently  for  their  duties  in  life. 

What  is  just  as  significant  as  this  failure  in  the  conser- 
vation of  capacities  and  talents  is  the  fact  that  the  voca- 
tional needs  of  the  state  are  not  being  met  in  a  satisfactory 
way.  Only  sixteen  lines  of  work  were  selected  as  life  occu- 
pations by  our  total  group  of  6188  high  school  seniors. 
The  high  schools  seem,  therefore,  to  be  directing  their 
students  towards  a  limited  number  of  lines  of  work,  and 
are  not  meeting  the  vocational  needs  of  a  modern  demo- 


SITUATION   REVEALED   BY   SURVEY          303 

cratic  state,  where  all  types  and  grades  of  talents  and 
ability  should  be  conserved  by  education  and  training. 

The  plan  has  been  and  still  is  to  give  certain  courses  of 
prescribed  work  in  the  high  school.  If  this  work  cannot 
be  done  by  the  student  or  does  not  meet  his  intellectual 
and  vocational  needs,  the  student  must  try  to  adapt  himself 
to  what  is  given.  Little  attempt  is  made  to  educate  him 
in  accordance  with  his  abilities  or  actual  life  needs.  The 
principle  promulgated  in  the  parable  of  the  talents  by  the 
Great  Teacher  is  being  ignored  or  at  least  not  practically 
applied  in  our  educational  work  to-day.  We  have  people 
in  the  state  who  are  mere  "hewers  of  wood  and  drawers 
of  water"  who  should  have  been  directed  towards  and 
trained  for  higher  types  of  work. 

We  must  conclude  that  wiser  educational  and  vocational 
guidance  is  needed  in  all  our  educational  work  if  we 
would  conserve  and  cultivate  the  capacities  and  abilities 
of  our  young  people  in  all  their  variety  and  richness.  Less 
than  two-thirds  of  the  seniors  taking  our  mental  tests  had 
chosen  their  vocation  in  life.  And  the  boys  and  girls 
coming  into  the  high  school  from  all  occupational  classes 
and  from  different  economic  groups  are  being  uncon- 
sciously directed  towards  a  few  lines  of  work.  Evidence 
is  also  at  hand  which  shows  that  little  attention  is 
given  to  the  matter  of  selecting  a  life  career  even  by 
high  school  seniors  or  college  freshmen.  Many  of  these 
young  people  are  more  or  less  adrift  so  far  as  their  life 
work  is  concerned.  Others  are  selecting  occupations  and 
actually  planning  to  prepare  for  lines  of  work  ill  adapted 
to  their  mental  strength.  The  brightest  girls  in  the  entire 


304     INTELLIGENCE   OF   HIGH   SCHOOL   SENIORS 

state  are  planning  to  take  up  stenography  and  shorthand. 
The  dullest  girls  in  our  total  senior  group  are  planning  to 
enter  the  teaching  profession.  The  boys  selecting  medi- 
cine and  preparing  to  take  a  medical  course  rated  on  the 
intelligence  tests  on  a  par  with  the  group  who  chose  a  me- 
chanical trade,  and  the  girls  selecting  nursing  ranked  next 
to  the  lowest  occupational  group.  Moreover,  the  range  in 
intelligence  for  the  seniors  choosing  the  same  occupation 
was  in  general  very  wide.  The  dullest  and  brightest  in- 
dividuals quite  often  chose  the  same  occupation.  In 
some  of  these  occupations,  teaching  and  business  for 
example,  there  is  opportunity  for  the  exercise  of  the  full 
mental  capacities  of  the  brightest  seniors.  The  only 
social  waste  and  tragedy  in  such  cases  would  be  the  failure 
of  those  too  weak  mentally  to  compete.  But  other  occu- 
pations chosen  by  the  brightest  seniors  require  only  an 
average  or  an  inferior  grade  of  high  school  intelligence  for 
success.  Such  occupations  are  often  chosen  by  the  bright- 
est seniors,  while  inferior  seniors  in  preponderating 
numbers  select  such  occupations  as  teaching,  medicine, 
and  nursing,  all  of  which  demand  the  highest  type  of  intel- 
lectual capacity. 

From  these  and  other  facts  revealed  in  this  study  we 
must  conclude  that  the  students  in  our  high  schools  need 
more  efficient  vocational  guidance  than  the  schools  are  at 
present  able  to  give  them.  In  no  other  way  shall  we  be 
able  to  conserve  and  cultivate  to  the  fullest  extent  the 
capacities  and  talents  of  all  young  people  in  the  state. 

8.  Individual  differences  in  vocational  and  scholastic 
interests.  Marked  differences  are  also  found  between  the 


SITUATION   REVEALED   BY   SURVEY          305 

vocational  and  scholastic  interests  of  the  students  now 
attending  our  high  schools.  This  was  shown  not  merely 
by  the  preferences  which  these  students  showed  for  differ- 
ent high  school  studies,  the  various  life  occupations  they 
selected,  and  the  type  of  high  school  course  pursued,  but 
by  the  general  level  of  intelligence  of  the  individuals  belong- 
ing to  our  total  senior  group.  There  are  marked  individ- 
ual differences  not  only  in  amount  of  intellectual  capacity 
but  also  in  kind.  But  the  varieties  of  interest  and  ability 
indicated  by  our  results  fall  far  short  of  the  varieties  found 
in  actual  life.  We  must,  therefore,  conclude  that  the  high 
school  as  now  organized  and  conducted  is  more  or  less  of  a 
selective  agency,  eliminating  many  young  people  from  its 
courses  who  do  not  possess  the  type  of  interest  or 
kind  and  degree  of  mental  ability  fostered  by  its  present 
curriculum. 

9.  American  high  school  not  truly  democratic.  From 
our  own  data  and  the  results  obtained  by  other  investi- 
gators we  conclude  that  the  American  high  school  is  not 
democratic  in  the  best  sense.  All  occupational  groups  and 
all  economic  classes  had  representatives  in  the  high  schools 
tested  and  in  the  senior  classes  of  these  schools,  as  we  have 
shown  in  Chapters  X  and  XI.  But  such  students  as  do 
attend  and  remain  to  graduate  have  the  type  of  mental 
ability  and  the  degree  of  native  mental  endowment  re- 
quired to  do  the  work  that  is  prescribed  in  the  course. 

A  marked  difference  was  found  in  the  intellectual  level  of 
the  seniors  pursuing  different  types  of  high  school  courses  — 
the  academic,  the  classical,  and  the  commercial  and  voca- 
tional courses.  It  was  also  found  that  the  brightest  students 


306      INTELLIGENCE    OF   HIGH   SCHOOL   SENIORS 

prefer  certain  types  of  studies,  such  as  science,  mathematics, 
and  foreign  language.  The  seniors  with  the  most  inferior 
grades  of  native  mental  ability  prefer  the  so-called  voca- 
tional courses.  A  number  of  years  ago  the  duller  students, 
or  those  with  a  "non-academic"  mind,  who  could  not 
succeed  in  Latin  or  mathematics,  were  dumped  into  the 
commercial  course.  But  as  has  been  pointed  out  by 
Terman  and  others *  the  teachers  of  these  subjects  soon 
sensed  the  situation  and  began  raising  their  standards  in 
order  to  eliminate  these  inferior  students  from  their  courses. 
Now  we  find  the  students  who  are  taking  the  com- 
mercial courses  in  high  school  occupying  second  place  and 
the  dullest  seniors  pursuing  a  vocational  course.  (Compare 
Chapter  VIII  above.)  But  in  Indiana  a  reaction  against 
admitting  the  duller  students  to  these  vocational  courses 
has  already  set  in,  for  the  teachers  of  these  subjects  and  the 
vocational  directors  of  the  state  are  advocating  daily  that 
only  the  brightest  students  should  be  admitted  to  the 
vocational  course,  saying  that  "  it  takes  a  bright  boy  to  be 
a  mechanic, "  etc.  The  fact  is  that  young  people  below  a 
certain  level  of  general  intelligence  and  those  possessing 
specific  mechanical,  musical,  and  artistic  abilities  are  not 
being  properly  taken  care  of  by  our  elementary  and  high 
schools  for  reasons  that  are  apparent  to  all. 

The  problem  is  how  to  conserve  and  cultivate  the  ca- 
pacities and  talents  of  all  grades  and  kinds  of  individuals. 
This  is  not  now  being  done  and  probably  cannot  be  ac- 
complished until  those  in  charge  of  our  educational  work 

1  Terman,  G.  M.,  "The  Intelligence  of  School  Children,"  Houghton 
Mifflin  &  Co.,  1919,  p.  90. 


SITUATION   REVEALED   BY   SURVEY          307 

change  their  point  of  view.  To  be  truly  democratic  and 
to  meet  the  needs  of  a  democracy  our  public  schools,  from 
the  kindergarten  to  the  university,  must  be  so  organized 
and  conducted  that  the  abilities  and  capacities  of  all  grades 
and  types  of  children  will  be  fully  conserved  and  cultivated.1 

10.  High  school  better  adapted  to  the  interests  and 
needs  of  the  girls.  Another  important  situation  re- 
vealed by  the  survey  is  that  the  high  school  work  seems 
better  adapted  to  the  interests,  capacities,  and  intellectual 
needs  of  the  girls  than  the  boys.  This  is  suggested  by  the 
fact  that  the  girls  are  more  rapidly  advanced  by  the  school 
and  are  rated  consistently  higher  on  their  scholastic  work 
than  the  boys,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the  boys 
who  remain  to  graduate  and  with  whom  these  girls  are 
competing  give  unmistakable  signs  of  possessing  superior 
intellectual  ability. 

For  some  reason  or  reasons  not  made  clear  by  the  survey 
the  high  school  girls  succeed  better  with  their  school  work 
than  the  boys.  Girls  with  inferior  grades  of  ability  suc- 
ceed where  boys  with  far  superior  ability  fail,  or  make 
a  scholastic  rating  much  below  that  given  to  the  girls 
pursuing  the  same  courses. 

On  the  basis  of  our  present  results  we  cannot  say  any- 
thing definite  with  regard  to  the  intellectual  superiority  of 
one  or  the  other  sex.  What  is  established  by  our  data  is 
the  fact  that  senior  high  school  boys  ranked  decidedly  and 
consistently  higher  on  the  intelligence  tests  than  did  the 
girls ;  that  the  higher  up  in  the  scale  of  intelligence  we  go 
the  greater  is  the  proportion  of  boys ;  that  notwithstand- 

1  For  a  further  discussion  of  this  point  see  section  4  of  Chapter  XV  below. 


-308      INTELLIGENCE   OF   HIGH   SCHOOL   SENIORS 

ing  the  mental  superiority  of  this  select  group  of  boys,  the 
girls  belonging  to  the  same  classes  are  rated  higher  on  their 
high  school  work  and  are  advanced  more  rapidly  and  con- 
sistently by  the  school  than  the  boys ;  lastly,  that  a  marked 
difference  exists  between  the  scholastic  and  vocational 
interests  of  the  boys  and  girls  which  strongly  suggests  a 
fundamental  sex  difference  in  the  mental  capacity  of  the 
sexes  and  may  help  to  explain  why  the  high  schools  of  the 
state  as  now  organized  and  conducted  seem  better  adapted 
to  the  interests  and  intellectual  need  of  the  girls. 

11.  Class,  school,  and  community  differences  impor- 
tant. We  should  also  point  out  that  differences  in  the 
intellectual  capacity  of  groups  of  individuals  —  senior 
classes,  the  same  grades  in  different  schools,  differences 
between  individual  schools,  between  schools  or  grades  in 
different  types  of  communities,  and  between  the  individ- 
uals coming  from  different  sections  of  a  state  —  may  be  as 
great  and  just  as  significant  for  the  proper  solution  of  cer- 
tain educational  and  social  problems  as  the  differences 
between  individuals,  though  we  need  different  methods 
for  their  determination  and  measurement.  From  the 
data  at  hand  it  is  obvious  that  these  group  differences  are 
not  clearly  recognized  by  school  officials.  Most  people  do 
not  know  that  they  exist.  The  scholastic  accomplish- 
ment of  a  class,  grade,  or  school,  and  of  a  school  system 
located  in  any  part  of  the  state  is  still  being  judged  by 
standards  of  achievement  obtained  from  without  the  sys- 
tem, community,  or  section,  and  with  little  or  no  regard 
for  the  actual  mental  capacity  of  the  classes,  grades,  schools, 
or  school  systems,  whose  educational  accomplishment 


SITUATION   REVEALED   BY   SURVEY          309 

is  being  evaluated.  In  this  manner  the  results  obtained 
by  a  teacher  in  a  school  where  51  per  cent  of  the  pupils  are 
found  to  be  feebleminded,1  are  judged  by  the  same  stand- 
ards of  accomplishment  as  the  work  of  a  teacher  in  a 
school  where  90  per  cent  of  the  pupils  make  an  A  or  B 
intelligence  rating,  for  their  age  or  grade. 

At  present  the  achievements  of  individual  high  schools 
in  all  parts  of  the  state  are  evaluated  by  the  state  high 
school  inspector  regardless  of  these  group  and  community 
differences  in  the  raw  human  material  with  which  the 
school  must  work.  Moreover,  colleges  and  universities 
assume  that  the  native  mental  endowment  of  the  seniors 
coming  from  all  commissioned  high  schools  and  from  every 
community  and  section  of  the  state  is  the  same  or  at  least 
standard  if  only  they  have  completed  a  prescribed  four- 
year  course  of  study.  Our  mental  survey  has  shown  that 
this  is  not  the  case.  It  has  shown  not  merely  that  these 
group  differences  exist,  but  why  they  must  be  taken  into 
account  in  the  solution  of  many  of  our  most  important 
social  and  educational  problems. 

12.  Intelligence  no  guarantee  of  school  success.  Lastly, 
from  our  own  data  and  from  the  facts  revealed  by  other 
investigations  made  in  our  laboratory  we  must  conclude 
that  intelligence  tests  are  not  adequate  for  prognosticat- 
ing an  individual's  school  success.  Mere  ability  to 
learn  will  not  insure  its  accomplishment.  Ability  to  per- 
form is  not  synonymous  with  actual  performance.  Mere 

1  Book,  W.  F.,  "Variations  in  Mental  Ability  of  the  School  Population 
of  an  Indiana  County,"  Proceedings  of  the  Fifth  Annual  Conference  on 
Educational  Measurements,  Vol.  IV,  April,  1919,  Indiana  University 
Book  Store. 


310      INTELLIGENCE   OF   HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

intellectual  capacity,  or  the  ability  to  do  school  work, 
will  not  insure  successful  work,  though  it  is  a  necessary 
precondition,  and  one  of  the  most  important  factors  in 
bringing  it  about.  Our  results  clearly  show  that  a  senior's 
success  in  school  is  conditioned  by  other  factors  besides 
his  intellectual  capacity.  Many  seniors  endowed  with 
the  highest  grade  of  intelligence  are  failing  in  school  or 
making  only  mediocre  success,  while  others  with  average 
or  seemingly  inferior  grades  of  intelligence  are  being  regu- 
larly promoted.  We  conclude  that  other  mental  character- 
istics, such  as  persistence,  effort,  and  mental  attitude 
towards  the  teacher  and  school,  play  an  important  role  in 
achieving  success  in  school.  These  facts  point  not  only  to 
the  need  of  having  reliable  tests  for  measuring  such  mental 
characteristics  as  we  have  just  enumerated,  but  show 
that  teachers  should  appeal  to  them  and,  so  far  as  possible, 
cultivate  and  improve  them,  since  they  are  necessary  not 
merely  for  success  in  school,  but  probably  also  for  attain- 
ing the  highest  success  in  life. 


CHAPTER  XV 

READJUSTMENTS  AND   REFORMS    SUGGESTED    BY 

THE  SURVEY ;  THE  CONSERVATION  OF  HUMAN 

CAPACITIES  AND  TALENTS 

THE  goal  of  all  science  and  the  aim  of  most  scientists  is 
to  discover  the  facts  needed  to  guide  human  aspirations 
and  conduct.  No  human  endeavor  is  worthy  the  name  of 
science  unless  it  results  in  the  finding  or  verification  of  such 
facts.  We  would  therefore  fall  short  of  our  duty  if  we 
failed  to  indicate  some  of  the  ways  in  which  the  facts  re- 
vealed by  this  survey  might  be  used  as  a  basis  for  further 
experimentation  and  as  a  guide  for  the  solution  of  some  of 
the  present-day  social  and  educational  problems  to  which 
they  pertain.  We  might  legitimately  be  accused  of  sci- 
entific laziness  if  we  failed  to  point  out  some  of  the  read- 
justments which  should  be  made  to  remedy  the  situation 
in  the  colleges  and  schools  revealed  by  the  survey,  or  if  we 
failed  to  make  such  suggestions  for  the  improvement  of 
these  conditions  as  to  us  seem  warranted  by  the  facts.  We 
shall,  therefore,  in  this  and  the  following  chapters  attempt 
to  point  out  the  practical  significance  of  some  of  the  facts 
which  the  survey  has  revealed  and  make  such  suggestions 
for  needed  educational  readjustments  as  in  our  judgment 
are  warranted  by  the  facts. 

311 


312     INTELLIGENCE   OF   HIGH  SCHOOL   SENIORS 

1.  Change  needed  in  our  point  of  view.  The  facts 
obtained  in  this  survey  point,  first  of  all,  and  most  con- 
clusively, perhaps,  to  the  need  for  a  change  in  our  point  of 
view  with  regard  to  what  formal  education  in  a  democracy 
can  and  should  be  expected  to  accomplish.  Our  schools 
were  originally  planned  to  meet  the  intellectual  and  prac- 
tical needs  of  a  few  individuals;  namely,  teachers,  min- 
isters, and  lawyers.  Their  work  has  since  been  gradually 
extended  in  scope  until  they  now  attempt  to  serve  all  classes 
of  people  in  the  state,  with  all  the  variety  of  interests, 
degrees  of  intellectual  capacity,  and  diversity  of  vocational 
needs  which  the  life  of  our  entire  population  presents. 
The  wide  individual  differences  in  capacities  and  interests 
and  in  the  intellectual  and  vocational  requirements  which 
such  an  unselected  mass  of  people  presents,  need  to  be 
more  fully  and  keenly  recognized  by  all  who  are  engaged 
in  educational  work.  The  wide  divergence  in  intellectual 
capacity,  in  the  intellectual  and  vocational  needs  of  this 
heterogeneous  group  should  not  merely  be  recognized,  but 
its  educational  significance  should  be  more  clearly  under- 
stood. We  should  understand  better  just  what  should  be 
expected  from  and  what  ought  to  be  done  for  young  people 
who  differ  so  tremendously  in  mental  capacity,  in  intel- 
lectual interest,  and  in  their  life  or  vocational  needs. 

We  also  need  to  recognize  what  successful  education  in 
a  democracy  really  means.  If  all  are  to  be  educated,  the 
variety  of  abilities,  intellectual  interests,  and  the.  individual 
needs  of  all  must  not  only  be  recognized,  but  met  in  the 
best  way  possible.  We  must  know  the  best  that  education 
can  do  for  or  with  such  a  heterogeneous  group.  We  need 


READJUSTMENTS   SUGGESTED   BY    SURVEY       313 

to  remember  that  in  any  large  unselected  group  of  indi- 
viduals or  in  the  average  school  grade  or  group  there  are 
about  as  many  individuals  with  very  superior  intellectual 
endowment  as  there  are  pupils  who  are  mentally  deficient 
in  a  marked  degree ;  that  their  superiority  is  really  present 
when  these  children  enter  school ;  and  that  it  persists  as 
a  constant  factor  in  their  life.  We  must  remember  also 
that  it  is  a  natural  or  normal  situation  for  some  individuals 
to  be  superior  in  intellectual  capacity  while  others  are 
deficient;  that  this  superiority  is  usually  general  rather 
than  freakish  or  one-sided,  although  some  individuals 
probably  do  possess  special  mental  abilities  to  a  marked 
degree ;  and  that  there  are  definite  limits  for  the  mental 
accomplishments  of  those  whose  mental  endowment  is 
below  the  average  for  any  unselected  group.  We  should 
also  remember  that  such  mentally  deficient  or  intellectually 
superior  individuals  may  be  located  by  means  of  reliable 
intelligence  tests  in  any  class  or  school ;  that  the  school 
accomplishment  of  each  individual  should  be  measured  in 
the  light  of  his  native  mental  endowment ;  and  that  the 
work  of  a  teacher  or  the  educational  accomplishment  of  a 
class  or  school  cannot  be  justly  evaluated  or  correctly 
measured  unless  the  mental  capacity  of  the  "  pupil  mate- 
rial "  is  taken  into  account.  It  is  also  important  to  remem- 
ber that  the  individuals  with  superior  ability  are  more 
difficult  to  recognize  and  locate  without  mental  tests  than 
the  mentally  deficient ;  that  the  talents  of  this  most  su- 
perior group  of  individuals  should  be  specially  conserved 
and  assiduously  cultivated  because  they  become  the  lead- 
ers of  society  in  every  line  of  work ;  and  finally  that  in  a 


314     INTELLIGENCE   OF   HIGH   SCHOOL   SENIORS 

democracy  the  talents  of  all  individuals,  the  mediocre  and 
weak  along  with  the  best,  should  be  zealously  conserved 
and  cultivated  in  accordance  with  the  principle  set  forth 
in  the  parable  of  the  talents  by  the  Great  Teacher.  This 
ideal  conception  of  efficient  education  in  a  democracy  needs 
to  be  more  fully  and  keenly  recognized,  because  the  in- 
tellectual abilities  of  the  people  of  any  generation  or  state 
constitute  its  most  precious  asset. 

On  account  of  traditional  tendencies  in  education  and 
the  ideas  we  have  held  in  the  past  about  the  meaning  and 
purposes  of  human  life,  our  schools  have  been  made  more 
of  a  general  leveling  agency  than  is  suited  to  a  democratic 
society.  The  tendency  has  been  to  try  to  bring  all  up  to 
certain  standards  of  attainment  and  to  demand  from  all 
certain  traditional  types  of  intellectual  achievement  rather 
than  to  try  to  conserve  and  cultivate  by  means  of  educa- 
tion all  types  of  worthy  capacities  and  interests. 

In  the  light  of  the  marked  individual  and  group  differ- 
ences revealed  by  this  study  it  will  be  seen  why  this  cannot 
be  done.  We  need,  therefore,  not  merely  to  understand 
the  diversity  of  the  differences  found  among  the  young 
men  and  women  in  our  colleges  and  schools,  but  also  to 
recognize  that  in  a  democracy  this  diversity  of  talent 
should  be  fully  cultivated  and  conserved.  In  a  democracy, 
where  all  should  be  educated  and  helped,  the  correct  and 
efficient  thing  to  do  is  to  educate  and  train  all  in  ways 
which  will  develop  to  the  fullest  extent  the  peculiar  abilities 
of  each  individual  so  far  as  these  conform  to  the  standards 
and  ideals  held  by  organized  society  to-day.  In  a  word, 
we  need  to  break  away  from  set  courses  and  superimposed 


READJUSTMENTS   SUGGESTED   BY   SURVEY      315 

standards,  and  regard  education  more  as  a  process  of  con- 
serving and  cultivating  human  capacities  and  talents  in  all 
their  variety  and  richness. 

2.  Talents  of  the  best  should  be  especially  cultivated 
and  conserved.  We  should,  first  of  all,  make  every  pos- 
sible attempt  to  conserve  and  cultivate  the  mental  capaci- 
ties and  talents  of  the  most  gifted  young  people  in  the  state. 
Definite,  workable  schemes  for  the  location  of  such  in- 
dividuals should  be  devised  and  used  continuously  from 
the  kindergarten  to  the  university,  because  such  differences 
manifest  themselves  very  early  and  remain  more  or  less 
constant  as  mental  development  proceeds. 

The  primary  purpose  of  this  investigation  was  to  locate 
by  means  of  group  intelligence  tests  the  best  intellectually 
endowed  young  men  and  women  graduating  from  the  high 
schools  of  one  state  and  to  make  arrangements  whereby 
this  group  of  superior  young  people  might  be  encouraged 
and  helped  to  continue  their  education  in  a  college  or 
university.  This  we  believe  is  one  of  the  most  important 
problems  confronting  the  colleges  and  high  schools  of  the 
state.  Our  data  show  that  about  25  per  cent  of 
this  group  of  superior  young  people  are  not  even  planning 
to  continue  their  education  beyond  the  high  school  stage, 
while  65  to  70  per  cent  of  the  high  school  seniors  who  pos- 
sess only  average  or  inferior  grades  of  intelligence 
are  planning  to  go  to  college.  Some  workable  plan 
should  therefore  be  devised  whereby  the  young  people 
who  possess  the  most  superior  grades  of  native  mental 
endowment  might  be  definitely  located  and  encouraged 
to  obtain  a  college  education. 


316     INTELLIGENCE   OF   HIGH   SCHOOL   SENIORS 

But  what  is  equally  important  is  to  adapt  the  work  of 
the  high  school  and  college  to  the  intellectual  needs  of 
these  superior  individuals.  This  will  require  a  new  and 
radically  different  treatment,  for  such  individuals  do  not 
need  the  same  kind  or  amount  of  help  that  should  be  given 
to  a  student  with  only  average  ability.  Many  brilliant 
young  people  now  in  college  are  frittering  away  their  time 
by  taking  only  the  normal  amount  of  work.  College 
authorities  and  teachers  should  therefore  work  out  the 
best  things  to  do  for  such  a  superior  group  of  individuals 
to  induce  them  to  put  forth  their  best  efforts  and  so  to 
make  the  most  of  their  opportunities  and  ability.  They 
should  really  be  located  as  soon  as  they  enter  the  high 
school  so  that  the  work  there  could  be  adjusted  to  their 
mental  strength  and  intellectual  interests  and  needs,  as  is 
not  now  done  in  any  systematic  way. 

There  is  unmistakable  evidence  in  our  data  that  this 
group  of  superior  individuals  often  have  their  intellectual 
interests  dulled  in  high  school  because  they  are  not  given 
the  kind  and  amount  of  work  required  tp  occupy  their 
minds  fully  or  to  satisfy  their  mental  curiosity.  The 
work  they  are  required  to  take  is  often  not  adapted  to 
their  intellectual  interests  or  needs.  Instead  of  stimulat- 
ing the  development  of  their  superior  abilities  they  are 
treated  in  ways  which  favor  the-  development  of  habits  of 
intellectual  laziness  because  they  are  encouraged  to  work 
far  below  the  level  of  their  best  attainment.  This  not 
only  means  a  handicap  and  loss  to  the  individual,  but  a 
waste  to  society  and  the  world. 

Public  school  authorities  and  teachers  need  also  to  rec- 


READJUSTMENTS   SUGGESTED   BY   SURVEY      317 

ognize  that  the  individuals  who  possess  these  most  su- 
perior grades  of  intellectual  capacity  may  be  located  when 
they  enter  school 1  and  the  work  conducted  in  a  way  that 
would  be  most  helpful  to  them.  Primary  and  all  grade 
teachers  in  the  public  school  need  to  understand  better 
than  they  do  just  what  may  reasonably  be  expected  from 
and  what  should  be  done  for  the  children  in  their  classes 
who  possess  the  most  superior  grades  of  intelligence. 

3.  All  types  and  grades  of  mental  ability  important. 
Some  rather  narrow  views  have  been  held  with  regard  to 
the  true  meaning  of  democracy  and  in  regard  to  what  sort 
of  education  was  needed  in  a  democratic  state.  A  de- 
mocracy does  not  mean  that  all  are  alike  or  that  they 
should  be  made  alike  by  education  and  training,  even  if 
this  could  be  done.  Democracy  means  opportunity.  It 
means  that  each  individual  should  be  given  an  opportunity 
to  make  the  most  out  of  his  life  and  native  capacities  that 
is  possible  for  him,  the  same  as  every  other  individual  in 
the  state.  Socially  it  means  that  all  grades  and  types  of 
capacity  and  talents  be  conserved  to  society  and  the  world. 

1  The  best,  and  probably  the  most  widely  used,  group  scale  of  intelli- 
gence for  use  in  the  first  three  grades  is  the  Primer  Scale,  devised  by 
Mrs.  S.  L.  Pressey,  Research  Fellow  in  Psychology,  Indiana  University. 
The  scale  is  easy  to  give,  easy  to  score,  and  carefully  standardized  in 
procedure  and  objective  in  scoring.  Also  (no  small  merit)  the  materials 
are  comparatively  inexpensive.  This  scale  may  be  had  in  any  quantity 
by  addressing  the  Department  of  Psychology,  Indiana  University, 
Bloomington,  Indiana.  The  Dearborn  scale  is  also  used  extensively, 
but  the  timing  and  scoring  on  this  test  are  very  inexact,  and  the  materials 
expensive.  Among  other  examinations  for  the  elementary  grades  may  be 
mentioned  the  Otis  and  Haggerty  scales  (World  Book  Company,  Yonkers, 
N.  Y.)  and  the  Kingsbury  scale  (Public  School  Publishing  Company, 
Bloomington,  Illinois). 


318      INTELLIGENCE   OF   HIGH   SCHOOL   SENIORS 

The  most  efficient  and  economic  scheme  of  education  in  a 
democracy  is  one,  therefore,  which  insures  the  full  develop- 
ment of  all  individual  capacities  and  talents  in  all  their 
variety  and  richness  to  the  end  that  the  best  interests 
of  both  the  individual  and  state  may  be  most  fully 
served. 

One  of  the  most  needed  readjustments  suggested  by  our 
data  is  a  better  adaptation  of  the  school  to  the  capacities 
and  needs  of  those  who  possess  the  most  inferior  grades  of 
mental  ability  found  among  the  heterogeneous  group  of 
individuals  who  now  attend  the  public  schools.  Our 
schools  have  been  developed  to  take  care  of  our  future 
leaders  and  those  who  are  most  fortunately  endowed.  But 
with  the  growth  of  the  democratic  ideal  and  the  passage 
of  compulsory  education  laws  we  have  been  forced  to  take 
special  care  of  those  who  are  mentally  deficient,  because 
this  problem  was  forced  upon  our  attention  by  their  utter 
inability  to  do  the  regular  school  work.  But  we  need  to 
realize  better  than  we  do  what  actually  can  and  ought  to 
be  done  for  this  deficient  class.  The  tendency  in  the 
schools  for  the  feebleminded,  in  schools  for  the  handicapped 
blind,  in  the  special  classes  arranged  by  the  public  school 
to  care  for  this  mentally  defective  group,  has  been  to  give 
them  the  same  course  of  study  used  with  normal  children, 
or,  to  be  more  exact,  a  course  which  was  originally  planned 
for  a  group  of  students  who  expected  to  take  up  the  more 
intellectual  pursuits  of  present  day  society.  Can  the  mea- 
ger talents  of  this  unfortunate  group,  we  should  ask,  best  be 
cultivated  by  a  course  of  study  which  has  been  developed 
for  this  professional  class  ?  Will  the  present  school  course 


READJUSTMENTS   SUGGESTED   BY   SURVEY      319 

fit  them  best  for  the  work  in  life  which  they  really  can  or 
ought  to  be  trained  to  do,  or  must  they  be  taken  care  of 
in  a  different  way  ? 

But  standing  between  this  most  inferior  group  and  the 
superior  individuals  referred  to  in  the  previous  section  of 
this  chapter  are  many  individuals  who  vary  greatly  in 
intellectual  capacity.  Still  the  practice  of  the  school  has 
been  to  try  to  meet  the  intellectual  as  well  as  the  vocational 
needs  of  all  these  individuals  in  the  same  way,  by  means 
of  the  same  course  of  study  and  the  same  methods  of  in- 
struction, all  of  which  have  been  developed  for  those  who 
are  by  nature  more  fortunately  endowed.  The  result  is 
that  large  numbers  of  individuals  possessing  the  more  in- 
ferior grades  of  mental  ability  fail  in  their  school  work  year 
after  year  and  are  finally  forced  out  of  school  at  the  age  of 
fourteen  with  an  education  totally  inadequate  to  meet 
their  vocational  needs.  Perhaps  the  most  prominent  thing 
they  have  obtained  from  their  school  experience  is  the 
habit  of  failing  at  most  things  which  they  were  asked  to  do, 
because  the  work  was  ill  adapted  to  their  mental  strength 
and  personal  needs.  That  the  meager  talents  of  these 
young  people  cannot  be  developed  and  made  most  service- 
able to  themselves  and  to  the  world  by  such  educational 
procedure  is  demonstrated  by  the  fact  that  they  are  forced 
out  of  school  as  soon  as  the  law  permits  them  to  leave,  hav- 
ing completed  only  the  work  of  the  first  three  or  four  grades. 
Some  continue  until  they  complete  the  work  of  the  eighth 
grade  and  are  then  eliminated,  chiefly  because  they  lack 
the  mental  ability  to  do  the  amount  or  kind  of  intellectual 
work  emphasized  by  the  present  school  course.  Many  try 


320      INTELLIGENCE   OF   HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

high  school  and  are  weeded  out  there  the  first  or  second 
year  for  the  same  reason. 

One  of  the  important  questions  raised  by  our  data  is 
whether  our  present  educational  procedure  which  conserves 
the  individuals  who  possess  superior  intelligence  or  mental 
ability  of  a  certain  kind  also  succeeds  equally  well  in  de- 
veloping other  grades  and  types  of  mental  ability  or  whether 
some  rather  radical  readjustments  should  not  be  made 
to  adapt  the  work  of  the  public  schools  better  to  the  vary- 
ing capacities  and  needs  of  all  types  of  children  who  attend 
them. 

4.  American  schools  and  colleges  should  be  made 
more  democratic.  It  should  be  clear  from  what  has  al- 
ready been  said  that  our  schools  cannot  be  considered 
wholly  democratic  or  thought  of  as  serving  the  best  needs 
of  a  modern  democracy  unless  they  take  proper  care  of  all 
types  of  people  and  educate  them  in  accordance  with  their 
intellectual  capacity  and  actual  needs.  As  has  already 
been  pointed  out  the  high  school  serves  only  a  small  pro- 
portion of  the  total  population,  largely  because  those  with 
the  more  inferior  grades  of  mental  ability  have  been  forced 
out  of  school.  Reform  after  reform  has  been  attempted 
to  make  our  high  schools  more  widely  serviceable  to  the 
young  people  of  the  state.  At  first  they  were  mainly 
preparatory  schools  for  the  college.  But  it  was  soon  found 
that  so  many  young  people  who  attended  the  high  school 
would  not  attend  college  that  arrangements  had  to  be  made 
to  try  to  serve  these  also.  In  attempting  to  make  the 
work  more  serviceable  to  this  larger  group,  various  sub- 
jects have  been  added  to  the  traditional  curriculum. 


READJUSTMENTS   SUGGESTED   BY   SURVEY      321 

Many  so-called  practical  subjects,  which  make  a  wider 
appeal  and  which  presumably  do  not  require  the  same  kind 
or  amount  of  mental  ability  demanded  by  such  subjects 
as  mathematics  and  Latin,  have  been  added  to  the  tradi- 
tional list  of  studies  offered.  But  the  teachers  of  these  more 
practical  subjects  soon  began  to  raise  their  standards  and 
so  forced  out  of  their  classes  and  out  of  the  high  school 
those  with  grades  of  mental  ability  slightly  inferior  to  the 
better  high  school  students.  The  same  tendency  is  now 
manifesting  itself  with  regard  to  the  vocational  courses 
which  have  more  recently  been  added  as  a  special  feature 
or  type  of  work,  designed  to  take  care  of  the  needs  of  those 
whose  best  interests  could  not  be  served  by  the  traditional 
academic  courses.  How,  we  should  ask,  can  the  high  school 
and  its  work  be  made  more  truly  democratic  ?  And  how 
can  our  colleges  and  universities  arrange  to  take  better 
care  of  all  the  young  people  who  want  to  attend,  while  at 
the  same  time  preserving  and  fostering  that  select  group  of 
young  people  who  possess  the  most  superior  grades  of 
mental  ability  found  among  the  young  people  of  the  entire 
state  ? 

The  problems  presented  by  this  situation  are  not  simple 
or  easy  to  solve  and  any  perfect  adjustment  is  doubtless 
a  long  way  off.  But  the  issues  involved  should  be  squarely 
met  and  the  problem  solved  as  rapidly  as  possible.  The 
most  pressing  need  which  our  data  suggest  is  for  making 
better  arrangements  to  take  special  care  of  that  group  of 
very  superior  young  people  which  we  tried  to  locate  by 
means  of  this  survey. 

Individuals  with  the  most  superior  grades  of  mental 


322     INTELLIGENCE   OF   HIGH   SCHOOL   SENIORS 

ability  should  be  located  in  both  the  high  school  and  the 
college,  and  arrangements  made  whereby  their  special  tal- 
ents might  be  fully  and  most  economically  cultivated.  It 
would  also  seem  possible  to  make  a  further  differentiation 
of  the  high  school  and  college  courses,  and  to  make  certain 
readjustments  in  the  standards  of  admission  to  these  in- 
stitutions and  to  specific  courses,  which,  among  other 
things,  would  set  definite  intellectual  as  well  as  academic 
standards  of  requirements  for  the  different  lines  of  ed- 
ucational work  offered.  If  this  or  some  similar  line  of 
development  is  not  followed  the  ever  increasing  demands 
for  a  high  school  and  college  education  and  the  growing 
enrollments  will  soon  force  a  lowering  of  the  standards 
now  held  for  the  traditional  courses,  and  will  make  it  in- 
creasingly difficult  for  these  institutions  to  take  proper 
care  of  that  small  group  of  superior  students  whom  they 
were  originally  created  to  serve. 

5.  Better  provisions  needed  for  vocational  training. 
Such  an  extension  of  the  courses  of  study  for  the  high 
schools  and  colleges  would  mean,  first  of  all,  better  pro- 
visions for  vocational  education.  This  doubtless  means 
that  a  reorganization  of  our  entire  system  of  schools  must 
be  made,  or  rather  that  their  present  duties  and  work  be 
much  extended.  Some  things  can  and  will  continue  to  be 
done,  for  the  special  groups  now  inadequately  served,  by 
means  of  the  traditional  courses  and  the  foundational  work 
required  for  all  effective  vocational  training.  But  it 
should  be  clear  that  our  present  educational  system  is 
much  too  narrow  to  meet  the  needs  of  all  the  people  and 
that  in  one  sense  our  schools  are  really  class  schools  appeal- 


READJUSTMENTS   SUGGESTED   BY   SURVEY     323 

ing  only  to  those  who  are  most  intellectually  fit.  It  is  the 
fact  that  there  are  so  many  individuals  who  do  not  have 
the  mental  ability  to  complete  the  work  even  of  the  ele- 
mentary grades,  but  who  could  be  trained  to  do  many 
useful  lines  of  work,  that  calls  special  attention  to  the  need 
for  vocational  education  of  an  elementary  grade. 

We  have  at  one  end  of  a  complete  scheme  for  vocational 
education  the  task  of  preparing  the  best  individuals  in  the 
state  for  such  professions  as  engineering,  medicine,  law, 
statesmanship,  and  the  like.  This  is  now  being  success- 
fully done.  We  have  at  the  other  extreme  the  task  of 
educating  those  who  are  mentally  deficient  in  a  way  that 
will  make  them  of  as  much  service  to  themselves  and  to  the 
world  as  is  possible.  But  we  must  also  train  in  an  effec- 
tive manner  all  those  who  fall  in  between  these  extremes. 
It  is  this  fact  which  makes  the  problem  of  vocational  edu- 
cation not  merely  tremendously  important  and  pressing, 
but  immeasurably  difficult, — a  task  which,  if  the  thesis 
of  this  discussion  is  valid,  marks  the  very  culmination  or 
flower  of  the  entire  educational  process  in  a  democracy. 

One  of  the  most  important  readjustments,  therefore, 
which  the  data  of  this  survey  suggest  as  urgently  needed, 
is  some  such  extension  of  vocational  training  as  is  here 
suggested,  for  in  no  other  way  can  all  the  abilities  and 
capacities  of  all  the  people  be  fully  conserved  and  made  to 
function  in  the  individual  and  social  life  of  the  state. 

6.  Need  for  better  educational  and  vocational  guid- 
ance. If  the  talents  and  capacities  of  all  our  people  are 
to  be  thus  fully  conserved  and  cultivated,  there  is  need  for 
a  special  type  of  educational  and  vocational  guidance, 


324      INTELLIGENCE   OF   HIGH   SCHOOL   SENIORS 

which  our  high  schools  and  colleges  are  at  present  unable 
to  give.  Young  people  must  not  only  be  educated  and 
trained  in  accordance  with  their  ability,  so  that  they  may 
render  to  themselves  and  to  the  world  their  best  service ; 
they  should,  so  far  as  possible,  be  directed  towards  and 
educated  for  the  work  in  life  that  is  best  suited- to  their 
mental  strength,  and  in  harmony  with  their  intellectual 
interest. 

This  need  for  wiser  educational  and  vocational  guid- 
ance was  impressed  upon  the  writer  in  many  scores  of  ways 
as  he  worked  with  the  data  revealed  by  this  survey.  The 
problem  as  a  whole  will,  perhaps,  never  be  satisfactorily 
solved.  Yet  the  great  social  waste  and  individual  dis- 
couragements, which  result  from  having  men  and  women 
with  mediocre  ability  engaged  in  tasks  clearly  beyond 
their  intellectual  capacity  and  competing  with  those  who 
by  their  every  act  brand  them  a  failure,  should,  as  far  as 
possible,  be  removed.  It  is  only  surpassed  by  the  greater 
tragedy  or  failure  of  society  and  the  school,  which  permits 
young  people  to  choose  and  prepare  for  vocations  in  life 
infinitely  below  their  level  of  mental  ability  and  which 
therefore  do  not  require  the  complete  and  healthy  exercise 
of  their  minds.  This  situation,  if  permitted  to  exist  and  to 
take  care  of  itself,  will  create  a  regular  factory  for  the  manu- 
facture of  an  army  of  malcontents  and  Bolsheviks  who 
will  seriously  menace  the  future  welfare  of.  society. 

Teachers  and  school  officials  should,  however,  not  be 
misled  by  the  wild  claims  so  often  made  by  enthusiasts 
in  the  field  of  vocational  education  or  by  the  statements 
and  writings  of  amateur  students  of  human  nature  who 


READJUSTMENTS  SUGGESTED   BY   SURVEY      325 

paint  glowing  pictures  of  what  may  be  accomplished  by 
means  of  vocational  guidance.  Only  a  few  things  can 
and  very  many  more  things  cannot  be  done  in  this  field 
with  our  present  knowledge. 

Perhaps  we  should  talk  more  about  educational  and  less 
about  vocational  guidance  than  we  do.  The  best  and 
practically  the  only  contribution  which  can,  at  present,  be 
made  to  the  solution  of  the  problem  of  vocational  guidance 
comes  from  the  science  of  mental  measurements.  By 
means  of  mental  tests,  reliable  intelligence  norms  may  be 
established  for  successful  workers  in  the  various  profes- 
sional, semi-professional,  skilled  trade,  business,  and  labor 
pursuits.  As  a  result  we  will  doubtless  soon  know  what 
grade  of  mental  capacity  is  required  for  success  in  these 
various  occupational  fields.  But  many  mental  surveys 
must  be  made  before  such  norms  can  be  satisfactorily 
established  because  it  will  be  necessary  in  connection  with 
the  establishment  of  such  norms  to  show  the  extremes  of 
ability  for  each  standard  occupation  below  which  failure 
is  almost  certain  and  above  which  an  individual  would  be 
wasting  his  best  efforts,  because  intellectual  ability  above 
that  point  was  not  required  for  success  in  that  field  of 
work. 

Results  already  obtained  indicate  clearly  that  for  some 
vocations  there  is  such  a  middle  range  of  mental  ability 
within  which  range  one's  chances  for  success,  if  such  a 
grade  of  ability  be  possessed,  would  be  practically  as- 
sured. Whereas  an  individual  with  less  native  mental 
ability  would  be  almost  certain  to  be  a  failure  in  that  type 
of  work.  But  even  when  such  norms  or  standards  have 


326      INTELLIGENCE    OF   HIGH   SCHOOL   SENIORS 

been  established,  the  best  we  can  do  by  means  of  intelli- 
gence tests  is  to  determine  in  which  occupational  field  or 
group  of  vocations  a  given  individual  is  most  likely  to 
succeed.  No  data  are  available  and  no  methods  have  yet 
been  devised  which  would  enable  a  teacher,  parent,  or 
superintendent  to  determine  with  any  degree  of  accuracy 
which  one  of  a  hundred  occupations  a  given  individual  is 
best  fitted  to  take  up.  A  child  with  average  native  mental 
ability  or  with  super-intelligence  may  in  all  probability 
succeed  equally  well  in  a  dozen  vocations,  if  he  happens  to 
be  interested  in  them  all,  or  possesses  certain  other  mental 
characteristics  which  are  essential  to  success  in  those 
fields.  The  best  we  can  do  at  present  is  to  make  sure  that 
our  young  people  select  occupations  that  are  adapted  to 
their  particular  grade  and  type  of  intelligence,  and  after 
this  let  natural  interest  and  various  practical  and  economic 
considerations  determine  which  of  the  group  of  vocations 
demanding  that  grade  of  intelligence  the  individual  should 
choose. 

But  with  educational  guidance  the  case  is  different.  If 
we  assume  that  all  young  people  should  be  prepared  for 
the  work  in  life  that  would  enable  them  to  make  the  great- 
est contribution  to  the  world,  we  must  conclude  that  vo- 
cational and  educational  guidance  should  go  together.  In 
fact  educational  direction  must  precede  vocational  guid- 
ance, for  we  assume  that  each  child  is  to  be  educated  fora 
certain  line  of  work.  Hence,  one  of  the  tasks  of  the  teacher 
and  the  school  becomes  that  of  trying  to  find  the  best 
possible  way  of  achieving  just  that  result.  Here  the  op- 
portunity of  the  teacher  and  educator  becomes  very  great. 


READJUSTMENTS  SUGGESTED   BY   SURVEY      327 

They  become  the  specific  agent  of  the  state,  having  in 
charge  the  sacred  task  of  conserving  all  grades  and  types 
of  ability  and  talent  found  in  the  school.  For  only  by 
such  wise  educational  direction  and  by  sharply  directed 
instruction  can  each  individual  be  educated  in  accordance 
with  his  native  capacities  and  interests. 

Readjustments  must,  therefore,  be  made  which  will  get 
us  away  from  the  traditional  procedure  that  has  made  our 
schools  so  much  of  a  leveling  agency,  a  procedure  which 
forces  those  with  the  more  inferior  grades  of  mental 
ability  to  take  school  work  that  was  originally  designed  for 
academically  minded  and  intellectually  superior  individ- 
uals. If  an  individual  cannot  do  this  work,  he  is  forced 
out  of  the  system,  or  hopelessly  stranded  somewhere  along 
the  line.  If  mental  tests  were  resorted  to  and  the  native 
mental  ability  of  all  pupils  approximately  determined, 
special  educational  and  vocational  work  might  be  arranged 
for  all  who  are  not  now  being  adequately  cared  for  by  the 
school,  more  especially  for  the  group  who,  no  matter  how 
long  they  attend  or  how  hard  they  try  to  do  the  work 
prescribed  by  the  traditional  course,  are  doomed  to  failure 
because  they  do  not  possess  the  grade  or  kind  of  mental 
ability  required  to  do  that  sort  of  intellectual  work.  If 
such  a  readjustment  were  made,  we  would  have  fewer 
educational  tragedies  than  are  now  enacted  in  our  public 
schools,  because  young  people  are  required  to  do  a  type  of 
work  at  which  they  can  never  succeed. 

In  all  this  we  have  said  nothing  about  the  waste  which 
results  from  the  fact  that  those  with  special  mechanical, 
musical,  or  artistic  ability  are  required  to  pursue  a  tradi- 


328      INTELLIGENCE    OF   HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

tional  academic  course  of  study  in  the  high  school.  But  we 
hope  it  has  been  made  clear  that  the  giving  of  mental  tests 
as  a  basis  for  wiser  vocational  and  educational  guidance 
is  one  of  the  means  of  reducing  such  waste  and  one  of  the 
needed  readjustments  which  should  be  made  in  our  edu- 
cational work. 

7.  Group  and  community  differences  should  be  rec- 
ognized. So  much  for  the  readjustments  needed  to  make 
proper  adaptations  to  the  marked  individual  differences 
which  are  found  in  our  society  and  schools.  But  another 
situation  has  been  revealed  by  the  data  collected  in  this 
survey  and  by  other  investigations  recently  made  by 
means  of  intelligence  tests.  These  make  necessary  a  num- 
ber of  readjustments  in  our  educational  procedure,  on 
both  its  instructional  and  administrative  sides.  The  fact 
that  marked  differences  exist  between  the  intellectual 
capacity  of  senior  classes,  between  the  native  mental 
endowment  of  pupils  belonging  to  the  same  grade  but  in 
different  schools,  between  all  the  pupils  in  one  school  or 
building  and  the  pupils  attending  another  building  or 
school  in  the  same  city,  and  finally  between  the  pupils  in 
the  schools  of  one  city  or  community  and  those  of  another— 
these  group  differences  make  it  impossible  to  get  the  same 
grade  or  amount  of  work  from  these  several  groups  of 
pupils. 

In  measuring  the  educational  accomplishment  of  any 
class,  grade,  or  school,  or  in  evaluating  the  work  of  any 
teacher,  school,  or  school  system,  the  fact  of  these  group 
and  community  differences  in  the  intellectual  capacity  of 
the  raw  human  material  with  which  teachers  must  work 


READJUSTMENTS  SUGGESTED  BY  SURVEY       329 

should  be  taken  into  account.  They  should  also  be  con- 
sidered when  a  decision  is  made  in  regard  to  what  ought 
to  be  done  for  young  people  in  such  classes,  grades,  or 
schools. 

In  the  light  of  the  facts  regarding  these  group  differences, 
standards  of  school  accomplishment  and  intellectual 
achievement  for  both  individuals  and  classes  or  groups 
become  only  relative  things  and  their  school  achievement 
must  be  evaluated  in  the  light  of  what  may  reasonably 
be  expected  from  an  individual,  class,  or  school  possessing 
their  particular  type  and  grade  of  ability. 

8.  New  method  needed  for  evaluating  school  accom- 
plishment. In  deciding  what  can  or  ought  to  be  done  for  a 
particular  individual  or  group  we  need,  therefore,  a  new 
method  for  evaluating  then*  work.  We  need  a  method 
for  measuring  school  achievement  which  will  take  into 
account  the  native  mental  ability  of  the  individual,  or 
group,  as  well  as  a  standard  which  is  applicable  to  a  theo- 
retically average  individual  or  which  is  demanded  by  the 
world.  We  need  a  method  and  standards  for  measuring 
progress  in  learning,  rather  than  for  measuring  school 
achievement,  standards  which  will  enable  us  to  measure 
progress  in  the  type  or  kinds  of  learning  which  are  actually 
going  on.  Teachers  in  dealing  with  individuals  or  classes, 
and  superintendents  in  evaluating  the  work  of  a  particular 
teacher  or  school  as  well  as  the  wrork  of  their  entire  sys- 
tem, need  to  take  into  account  the  native  mental  endow- 
ment of  the  pupil  material  with  which  they  and  their 
teachers  must  work  and  evaluate  school  achievement  in 
the  light  of  the  native  mental  ability  of  their  pupils. 


330      INTELLIGENCE    OF   HIGH   SCHOOL   SENIORS 

A  new  reliable  and  practical  method  for  measuring 
school  accomplishment  is  therefore  needed,  one  which  will 
give  us  a  new  standard  for  measuring  progress  in  school. 
Only  when  such  a  standard  or  "ability  index"  has  been 
obtained,  one  which  shows  the  ratio  between  intelligence 
and  actual  progress  in  learning  or  school  accomplishment, 
one  which  is  thoroughly  practical  and  reliable,  can  the 
work  of  a  pupil,  the  success  of  a  teacher,  or  the  accomplish- 
ment of  a  class  or  school  be  justly  evaluated. 

It  should  of  course  be  remembered  that  it  is  still  valuable 
to  measure  the  achievement  of  an  individual,  a  class,  or  a 
school,  by  a  standard  which  the  world  has  fixed,  or  stand- 
ards which  have  been  obtained  from  a  large  group  of  un- 
selected  individuals.  The  reasons  for  this  are  apparent. 
Such  a  standard  is  helpful  for  purposes  of  educational  and 
vocational  guidance  as  it  indicates  the  type  of  success 
which  must  be  achieved  by  an  individual  if  he  desires  to 
be  successful  in  a  given  line  of  work  or  is  to  make  normal  or 
unusual  progress.  But  if  we  wish  to  evaluate  the  actual 
progress  that  can  or  should  be  made  by  a  pupil,  a  class,  or  a 
school,  the  native  mental  endowment  of  such  an  individual 
or  group  must  in  all  justice  be  taken  into  account.  In  no 
other  way  can  we  determine  what  legitimately  ought  to  be 
expected  or  demanded  from  a  given  individual  or  group. 
This  is  the  true  pedagogical  standard,  showing  what  can 
and  ought  to  be  achieved  by  a  given  individual  or  group, 
and  should  be  used  by  every  teacher  or  superintendent 
who  desires  to  conserve  and  cultivate  the  talents  of  all  his 
pupils  in  an  economical  and  efficient  way. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

VALUE  AND   USES   OF  INTELLIGENT  TESTS  AND 
THE  MENTAL   SURVEY 

THUS  far  in  this  discussion  we  have  merely  tried  to 
restate  the  more  important  facts  and  to  point  out  some  of 
the  readjustments  which  should  be  made  in  our  educa- 
tional theories  and  practices  better  to  adapt  the  work  of 
our  colleges  and  schools  to  the  mental  abilities,  interests, 
and  vocational  needs  of  the  individuals  who  are  being  edu- 
cated. We  shall  now  point  out  as  clearly  and  specifically 
as  we  can  some  of  the  ways  in  which  intelligence  tests  and 
mental  surveys  may  be  helpful  in  making  these  adap- 
tations, or  used  in  helping  us  to  solve  some  of  the  more 
important  practical  problems  which  modern  educators 
and  social  workers  meet. 

Reliable  intelligence  tests  and  systematic  mental  surveys 
may  be  used  in  many  ways,  of  which  the  following  are, 
perhaps,  the  most  important : 

(1)  To  make  individual  diagnoses  for  purposes  of  grade 
classification  and  educational  guidance :  (a)  locating  the 
most  brilliant,  dull,  and  average  individuals  belonging  to 
any  class,  grade,  school,  or  group;  (6)  prognosticating 
their  probable  success  in  school  and  life ;  (c)  determining 
what  might  reasonably  be  expected  from  them  in  the  way 

331 


332     INTELLIGENCE    OF   HIGH   SCHOOL   SENIORS 

of  school  achievement;  and  (d)  making  an  educational 
diagnosis  to  determine  what  ought  to  be  done  for  individu- 
als who  possess  such  different  grades  of  intelligence. 

(2)  To  make  group  comparisons  for  the  purpose  of 
determining  and  studying  class,  grade,  school,  and  com- 
munity differences :  (a)  comparing  the  intellectual  capacity 
of  different  sections  or  classes  in  a  given  school  grade; 
(6)  comparing  the  intellectual  capacity  of  the  raw  human 
material  in  different  schools;    (c)  studying  and  determin- 
ing the  general  intellectual  level  of  the  pupil  material  for 
an  entire  school  system  or  community. 

(3)  To  evaluate  and  measure  the  school  accomplish- 
ment of  a  pupil,  class,  grade,  school,  or  school  system  in  the 
light  of  their  intellectual  capacity. 

(4)  To  determine  the  success  which  a  particular  school 
or  school  system  has  attained  in  adapting  its  organization 
and  work  to  the  mental  inequalities  of  its  students,  by 
comparing  their  intelligence  scores  with  the  progress  made 
in  school. 

(5)  To  make  social  and  community  surveys ;  (a)  for  the 
purpose  of  ascertaining  the  nature  and  value  of  the  human 
resources  of  a  community  or  state ;  (6)  to  locate  and  study 
moral  delinquents  for  purposes  of  special  educational  or 
legal  treatment,  and  (c)  to  locate  the  feebleminded  for 
special  study  and  educational  treatment.     A  mental  sur- 
vey, if  continued  over  a  period  of  three  or  four  years, 
would  reveal  as  nothing  else  could  the  true  character  of 
the  human  resources  of  the  state  —  our  most  valuable 
asset. 

(6)  To  make  industrial  surveys  for  the  purpose  of  con- 


VALUE   AND   USES   OF  MENTAL   TESTS       333 

serving  more  fully  the  human  resources  and  talents  in 
business  and  industry,  by  placing  each  worker  more  nearly 
at  the  right  job,  or  adjusting  his  occupation  to  his  intellec- 
tual interests  and  mental  strength. 

Space  will  not  permit  us  to  give  more  than  a  brief  de- 
scription of  each  of  these  uses,  but  it  is  hoped  that  even 
such  an  account  may  prove  helpful  to  educators  and  social 
workers  interested  in  a  more  economic  and  efficient  so- 
lution of  the  problems  discussed. 

1.  Making  individual  diagnosis  for  grade  classifica- 
tion and  educational  guidance. 

(a)  Locating  the  brightest  pupils  in  any  class,  grade, 
school,  or  group,  for  special  educational  treatment.  The 
ways  in  which  a  mental  survey  may  be  used  to  locate  any 
superior  group  of  individuals  for  special  educational  treat- 
ment have  already  been  pointed  out.  (See  Chapter  IV, 
pp.  42-45.)  By  the  use  of  reliable  intelligence  tests  the 
most  superior  individuals  in  any  class,  grade,  school,  or 
group  may  be  located  and  arrangements  made  for  the  kind 
of  educational  treatment  that  is  best  suited  to  their  in- 
tellectual interests  and  capacities.  Group  intelligence 
tests  are  available  which  may  be  given  to  pupils  in  any 
school  grade,  or  to  college  students  or  adults,  and  to  a 
class  of  25  or  300  at  a  time.  These  will  enable  any  teacher 
to  determine  in  from  25  to  45  minutes  which  individuals 
in  the  group  possess  the  highest  or  lowest  grades  of  in- 
telligence, as  well  as  to  locate  specific  groups  of  individuals 
ranking  between  the  highest  and  lowest  divisions  of  the 
total  group.  When  mental  age  and  grade  norms  have 
been  established  the  value  of  these  various  grades  of  in- 


334 

telligence  may  be  determined  and  a  more  economic  and 
profitable  educational  treatment  prescribed  for  these 
various  groups. 

(6)  Prognosticating  school  success.  Intelligence  tests 
and  mental  surveys  are  also  of  special  value  for  deter- 
mining the  probable  school  success  which  a  particular 
student,  class,  grade,  or  group  may  attain.  The  ability 
to  learn,  as  revealed  by  a  reliable  intelligence  test,  is  the 
best  single  criterion  we  have  for  determining  what  may 
reasonably  be  expected  in  the  way  of  school  attainment 
from  an  individual  or  group  of  individuals.  This  measure 
may,  therefore,  be  used,  with  certain  restrictions,  as  a 
basis  for  the  classification  and  promotion  of  pupils  in  school 
in  the  following  ways:  (1)  The  brightest  individuals  in 
any  class  may  be  doubly  promoted  or  allowed  to  skip  a 
half  or  whole  grade,  or  even  put  in  the  school  grade  where 
then*  intelligence  scores  indicate  that  they  belong. 
(2)  They  may  be  put  in  a  special  opportunity  class,  with 
pupils  from  other  grades  or  buildings,  where  they  can  be 
given  special  educational  treatment  adapted  to  their  su- 
perior ability.  This  would  enable  a  teacher  not  merely 
to  allow  such  superior  individuals  to  finish  the  work  of 
the  ordinary  course  as  rapidly  as  possible  but  would  pro- 
vide an  opportunity  for  experimenting  with  the  course  of 
study  and  the  type  of  instruction  best  adapted  to  the 
needs  of  such  superior  pupils.  Less  detailed  work,  less  drill, 
and  fewer  reviews  are  doubtless  necessary  for  such  superior 
students.  In  fact,  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  both 
the  course  of  study  and  type  of  instruction  should  be 
sharply  differentiated  for  a  class  of  such  individuals. 


VALUE   AND   USES  OF  MENTAL   TESTS       335 

(3)  The  pupils  of  a  given  grade  or  school  may  also  be 
grouped  into  sections  or  classes  on  the  basis  of  mental 
strength  as  determined  by  the  mental  survey,  and  the 
whole  matter  of  their  instruction  put  on  a  more  economi- 
cal and  efficient  basis.  (4)  The  mentally  deficient  indi- 
viduals in  a  class  or  school  may  be  readily  located  and 
segregated  for  special  educational  treatment.  (5)  Mental 
tests  are  also  helpful  as  an  aid  to  promotion.  They  show 
whether  or  not  a  given  pupil  has  the  ability  to  do  the  work 
of  the  next  higher  grade  because  they  show  what  may  rea- 
sonably be  expected  from  doubtful  students.1  (6)  Intelli- 
gence tests  also  indicate  the  causes  of  school  failure  and 
assist  in  placing  children  who  come  from  other  systems,  or 
from  a  country  to  a  city  school.  Children  from  other 
schools  and  states  are  often  wrongly  placed  in  the  new 
system,  being  usually  assigned  to  a  lower  grade  than  their 
ability  and  past  training  really  warrant.  Intelligence 
tests  help  to  make  a  proper  adjustment. 

Two  years  ago  in  a  certain  Indiana  school  system  near 
a  large  cantonment  the  superintendent  had  the  task  of 
grading  600  children  who  came  from  every  section  of  the 
United  States.  Inadequate  records,  different  standards, 
the  different  courses  of  study  and  textbooks  which  had 
been  used  and  the  fact  that  the  entire  job  of  classification 
had  to  be  done  in  a  few  days  at  the  opening  of  school  made 
his  task  extremely  difficult.  Appeal  was  made  to  intelli- 
gence tests  and  to  the  age  and  grade  norms  which  had  been 
previously  established  for  his  system  on  the  Indiana  Uni- 

1  For  a  discussion  of  the  limitations  of  group  intelligence  tests,  see 
Chapter  XIV,  section  9. 


336      INTELLIGENCE   OF   HIGH   SCHOOL   SENIORS 

versity  Group  Intelligence  Scale.  As  a  result  the  pupils 
were  soon  correctly  classified  for  effective  work. 

(c)  Vocational  guidance.  As  has  already  been  shown, 
intelligence  tests  and  the  results  from  systematic  mental 
surveys  may  be  used  to  prognosticate  not  only  the  kind 
of  success  which  a  given  individual  may  attain  in  school, 
but  also  in  life.  By  means  of  reliable  intelligence  tests  we 
may  ascertain  the  occupations  or  lines  of  work  in  which  an 
individual  with  a  given  grade  of  intelligence  might  be  ex- 
pected to  succeed  and  the  callings  that  are  clearly  unsuited 
to  his  mental  strength.  Intelligence  tests  may  therefore 
be  made  a  first  step  in  the  successful  vocational  and  edu- 
cational guidance  of  youth  and  are  needed  far  down  in  the 
grades,  contrary  to  the  opinion  of  most  educators. 

As  far  down  as  the  fourth  and  fifth  grade  pupils  begin 
to  drop  out  of  school.  For  these  individuals  some  factual 
basis  is  needed  to  direct  not  only  their  future  education, 
but  their  choice  of  occupation,  because  it  becomes 
necessary  to  do  both  as  soon  as  it  is  apparent  that  they 
can  no  longer  profit  by  the  traditional  school  course.  They 
must  at  this  time,  if  ever,  be  given  educational  work 
adapted  to  their  mental  capacity  and  future  vocational 
needs.  This  is  absolutely  necessary  if  their  education  is 
to  be  directed  in  ways  that  will  be  most  interesting  and 
helpful  to  them.  They  cannot  profit  by  or  become  in- 
terested in  the  traditional  school  course  because  they  lack 
the  native  mental  ability  to  do  the  work. 

We  can  only  speculate  on  the  amount  of  social  waste 
which  occurs  from  the  fact  that  such  individuals  have  not 
been  directed  towards  or  trained  for  the  lines  of  work 


VALUE  AND   USES  OF  MENTAL  TESTS       337 

adapted  to  their  mental  capacities  and  interests.3  Because 
of  inadequate  vocational  guidance  many  men  and  women 
are  to-day  engaged  in  occupations  far  beneath  the  level  of 
their  intellectual  ability.  Others  are  attempting  work 
too  complex  for  their  mental  strength.  Both  are  made 
unhappy  and  inefficient  because  of  the  ill-adjustment. 
And  a  bad  matter  is  made  worse  when  young  people  are 
trained  in  our  professional  and  vocational  schools  for  life 
careers  wholly  unsuited  to  their  native  mental  strength. 
Systematic  mental  surveys  would  do  much  to  correct 
such  social  wastes.  If  intelligence  tests  were  given  to 
workers  now  engaged  in  the  various  standard  occupations, 
we  would  obtain  intelligence  norms  which  would  show  the 
grade  of  intelligence  that  the  workers  in  each  important 
field  of  work  actually  possess  and,  therefore,  the  intelli- 
gence levels  that  are  necessary  for  successful  work  in  the 
standard  occupations.  Such  norms  would  at  least  give 
us  a  starting  point  for  effective  vocational  and  educational 
guidance  of  youth. 

(d)  Educational  diagnosis  and  direction.  But  a  mat- 
ter which  is  just  as  important  as  directing  an  individual 
towards  the  work  in  life  which  he  is  best  able  to  do,  is  to 


1  This  situation  is  made  worse  by  the  well-meaning  but  misdirected 
efforts  of  many  of  our  child  welfare  enthusiasts  who  busy  themselves  by 
getting  laws  enacted  in  the  different  states  which  force  these  unfortunate 
and  mentally  deficient  individuals  to  continue  in  school  until  they  are 
16  years  of  age.  No  provisions  are  made  to  adapt  the  course  of  study  to 
their  capacities  or  vocational  needs.  The  only  hope  in  such  misguided 
procedure  lies  in  the  fact  that  such  laws  may  in  time  force  school  author- 
ities to  adjust  their  school  work  to  the  intellectual  capacities  and  needs  of 
those  who  are  thus  forced  into  the  school,  but  who  can  never  succeed  with 
or  profit  by  the  regular  academic  course. 


338      INTELLIGENCE   OF   HIGH   SCHOOL   SENIORS 

prepare  him  by  education  or  training  to  do  that  work  in 
the  most  economical  and  efficient  way  possible.  We  must, 
therefore,  learn  to  determine  what,  in  an  educational  way, 
should  be  done  for  the  individuals  belonging  to  each  partic- 
ular mental  class  or  group.  An  intelligence  score  is  the 
best  aid  which  a  teacher  or  parent  can  have,  who  must 
make  such  a  diagnosis  or  give  to  an  individual  the  kind  of 
educational  guidance  which  he  ought  to  have.  A  reliable 
intelligence  rating,  more  than  any  other  one  thing,  shows 
what  a  given  individual  can  do  and  what  he  cannot  do 
successfully,  and  what  direction  a  given  student's  educa- 
tion should  take.  By  indicating  what  may  be  expected 
from  an  individual,  we  secure  help  in  predicting  what  ought 
to  be  done  for  him  or  any  group  of  individuals  who  vary 
so  tremendously  in  native  mental  capacity. 

The  need  for  such  educational  and  vocational  guidance 
is  apparent  to  all.  It  cannot  be  given  to  the  young  peo- 
ple in  our  colleges  and  schools  without  the  use  of  intelli- 
gence tests  or  systematic  mental  surveys.  Such  direction 
or  guidance  should  be  given  while  these  young  people  are 
still  being  trained  for  the  duties  of  life.  When  we  reflect 
that  such  intelligence  tests  may  be  given  to  an  entire 
class  of  25  to  400  individuals  in  30  or  45  minutes  and  the 
results  scored  as  quickly  as  a  teacher  can  grade  the  re- 
sults of  the  ordinary  school  examination,  it  is  difficult  to 
see  why  such  mental  tests  are  not  given  more  often  as 
regular  examinations  by  the  school. 

(e)  Determining  the  causes  of  failure  in  school.  In- 
telligence tests  are  also  an  aid  in  ascertaining  the  causes  of 
failure  in  school,  because  they  enable  a  teacher  to  deter- 


VALUE   AND   USES   OF   MENTAL   TESTS       339 

mine  whether  such  failure  is  caused  by  the  absence  of 
intellectual  capacity  or  by  poor  teaching  and  inability  on 
her  part  to  reach  and  interest  her  students  in  the  work. 

2.  Determining  the  success  or  adjustment  of  a  school 
to  these  individual  differences.  The  best,  and  so  far  as 
the  writer  knows,  the  only  systematic  way  in  which 
a  superintendent  can  determine  the  extent  to  which 
his  schools  and  teachers  are  succeeding  in  adapting 
themselves  to  individual  differences  in  the  native 
mental  endowment  of  their  pupils,  is  by  means  of  intelli- 
gence tests  or  mental  surveys.  This  may  be  done  by 
determining  the  grade  of  intelligence  which  the  pupils  pos- 
sess who  have  actually  been  accelerated  or  retarded  by  the 
school.  Such  questions  as  the  following  would  naturally 
arise  while  making  such  comparisons.  How  does  the 
intellectual  ability  of  those  accelerated  by  the  school  com- 
pare with  that  of  the  group  which  has  been  retarded  or 
only  normally  promoted?  Are  some  pupils  advanced 
faster  than  their  mental  ability  seems  to  warrant  and  others 
held  back  who  really  should  have  been  advanced  ?  Are 
the  brightest  pupils  advanced  as  rapidly  as  their  mental 
ability  warrants?  Are  the  duller  students  promoted 
along  with  the  brightest  or  even  ahead  of  some  of  them  ? 
If  so,  what  is  wrong  ? 

A  mental  survey  is  therefore  needed  to  show  how  well  a 
school  is  adjusting  itself  in  organization  and  work  to  the 
individual  differences  and  needs  of  its  students.  If  the 
brightest  students  are  not  making  good  grades  on  their 
school  work,  the  reasons  for  such  failure  should  be  deter- 
mined and  the  proper  adjustments  made.  A  careful  study 


340     INTELLIGENCE   OF   HIGH   SCHOOL   SENIORS 

should  also  be  made  of  the  "  over-ageness  and  under- 
ageness"  of  each  pupil  in  the  school.  In  schools  where 
careful^  and  thorough  mental  surveys  have  been  made  we 
regularly  find  that  the  brightest  pupils  have  not  been  ad- 
vanced by  the  school  as  rapidly  as  their  mental  ability 
seems  to  warrant,  while  the  dullest  pupils  have,  as  a  rule, 
been  advanced  more  rapidly  than  their  mental  ability 
indicates  that  they  should  be.  That  is  to  say,  it  is  the 
brightest  children  who  are  really  retarded,  because  they 
are  found  to  be  from  one  to  three  years  behind  the  grade  to 
which  their  mental  ability  indicates  that  they  should 
belong. 

Intelligence  tests  and  mental  surveys,  will,  therefore, 
enable  school  authorities  to  approach  the  study  of  re- 
tardation from  an  entirely  new  and  scientific  angle. 
Viewed  in  the  light  of  the  individual  differences  in  mental 
endowment  which  are  known  to  exist,  the  problem  of  re- 
tardation presents  an  entirely  different  situation  from 
what  is  usually  supposed  to  exist.  The  problem  needs  to 
be  approached  from  the  angle  of  what  may  reasonably  be 
expected  from  individuals  who  possess  given  grades  of 
native  mental  endowment,  rather  than  by  judging  each 
pupil's  school  standing  on  the  basis  of  mere  chronological 
age  or  by  standards  which  disregard  the  native  mental 
ability  of  the  students  whose  work  is  being  evaluated. 

3.  Making  group  diagnoses  to  determine  mental 
differences  between  classes,  grades,  schools,  and 
groups.  Intelligence  tests  may  also  be  used  to  determine 
and  study  class,  grade,  school,  and  community  differences. 
It  has  been  found  that  marked  differences  exist  between 


VALUE   AND   USES   OF   MENTAL   TESTS       341 

the  intellectual  capacity  of  children  who  belong  to  different 
sections  of  the  same  school  grade,  or  who  attend  different 
buildings  in  the  same  city,  or  between  children  living  in 
different  cities  or  in  different  sections  of  a  county  or  state. 

Reliable  group  scales  of  intelligence  will  enable  a  super- 
intendent first  of  all  to  compare  the  intellectual  capacity 
of  different  sections  or  classes  in  the  same  school  grade  and 
so  to  determine  what  may  reasonably  be  expected  from  a 
given  class  or  grade.  In  this  manner  the  work  of  a  teacher 
may  be  properly  evaluated.  Without  such  intelligence 
records  all  sections  or  classes  must  be  judged  by  the  same 
standard.  This,  in  the  light  of  the  group  differences 
which  have  been  shown  to  exist,  would  be  a  manifestly 
unjust  and  inaccurate  procedure.  Such  tests  may  also  be 
used  to  study  the  intellectual  capacity  of  the  human 
material  found  in  different  schools  belonging  to  the  same 
system  or  for  determining  the  general  level  of  intelligence 
of  the  pupil  material  for  an  entire  community. 

In  this  way  any  superintendent  with  the  aid  of  a  group 
scale  for  measuring  intelligence  may  obtain  a  real  factual 
basis  for  comparing  the  accomplishment  of  his  own  system 
with  that  of  any  other  system ;  for  evaluating  the  work  of 
any  particular  teacher  or  the  results  obtained  by  the  teach- 
ers in  different  buildings,  etc.  We  no  longer  should  eval- 
uate school  accomplishment  for  a  particular  class  or  section, 
or  the  success  of  teachers  in  a  particular  building,  or  the 
work  of  an  entire  school  system  by  mere  objective  stand- 
ards of  achievement  which  do  not  take  into  account  the 
mental  capacity  or  "learning  index"  of  the  pupils  con- 
cerned. The  actual  school  accomplishment  should  be 


342     INTELLIGENCE    OF   HIGH  SCHOOL  SENIORS 

judged  in  terms  of  what  is  possible,  as  well  as  what  is 
desirable. 

Intelligence  tests  may,  therefore,  become  not  merely  an 
instrument  in  the  hands  of  a  teacher  or  superintendent  for 
making  proper  adjustments  to  such  class,  grade,  school,  and 
community  differences  as  actually  exist,  but  a  means  for 
the  just  evaluation  and  proper  measurement  of  the  re- 
sults of  their  work. 

4.  Intelligence  tests  needed  to  evaluate  and  measure 
school  accomplishment.  Intelligence  tests  and  mental 
surveys  are  necessary  for  determining  the  type  and  amount 
of  progress  which  a  given  pupil,  class,  grade,  school,  or 
school  system  should  make.  The  intelligence  score  in- 
dicates the  school  progress  which  such  an  individual  or 
group  should  be  expected  to  make  and  so  is  necessary  in 
evaluating  the  progress  in  learning  which  is  actually  taking 
place.  In  evaluating  the  work  of  a  teacher  or  measuring 
the  actual  success  which  has  been  achieved  we  must 
combine  the  results  obtained  from  achievement  tests  with 
the  results  obtained  from  mental  surveys  and  learn  to 
judge  what  is,  in  the  light  of  what  may  be,  or  what  ought 
to  be  expected  from  a  pupil  or  class  possessing  the  type 
and  grade  of  intellectual  ability  revealed  by  the  mental 
tests.  It  is  not  only  unjust  but  pedagogically  inaccurate 
or  wrong  to  judge  the  results  obtained  by  a  pupil  or 
teacher  without  regard  to  what  can  and  therefore,  ought 
to  be  achieved.  Intelligence  tests  and  the  mental  survey 
may  become  a  means  for  the  proper  evaluation  and  meas- 
urement of  school  accomplishment,  and  a  technique  or 
method  should  be  worked  out  which  will  enable  teachers 


VALUE   AND   USES  OF  MENTAL  TESTS       343 

and  superintendents  to  use  achievement  tests  and  intelli- 
gence tests  together  and  so  measure  the  results  of  teaching 
in  the  light  of  what  can  and  ought  to  be  accomplished.1 

5.  Making  social  and  community  surveys.  Intelligence 
tests  and  the  mental  survey  may  also  be  used  to  deter- 
mine the  character  and  value  of  the  human  resources  of  a 
given  community  or  state.  By  means  of  mental  surveys 
we  may  take  stock,  as  it  were,  of  the  human  resources  of 
any  community.  Such  a  survey  might  be  made  in  the 
public  schools  because  this  would  probably  give  a  true 
picture  of  the  intellectual  level  of  the  adult  population 
of  the  community.  It  might  also  be  made  a  means  for 
locating  actual  and  prospective  moral  delinquents  and 
feebleminded,  if  the  special  cases  so  differentiated  were 
given  an  individual  examination  of  a  more  searching  and 
exact  character.  Such  social  and  community  surveys 
might  be  used :  (a)  to  locate  for  purposes  of  further  study 
and  special  social  and  educational  treatment  prospective 
and  actual  moral  delinquents;  (6)  to  locate  the  feeble- 
minded for  further  study  and  special  educational  treat- 
ment ;  and  (c)  to  make  an  inventory  of  the  human  re- 
sources of  a  community  or  state.  The  first  two  uses 
named  should  be  more  fully  described. 

(a)  Location  and  treatment  of  moral  delinquents.  Intel- 
ligence tests  are  especially  valuable  for  determining  what 
sort  of  re-education  should  take  place  in  our  treatment 
of  moral  delinquents.  Crime  is  often  the  result  of  mental 

1  Such  a  program  of  research  has  been  undertaken  in  our  own  laboratory. 
School  achievement  tests  are  being  developed  which  may  be  readily 
combined  in  this  way  with  group  intelligence  tests. 


344      INTELLIGENCE   OF  HIGH   SCHOOL   SENIORS 

deficiency.  Intelligence  tests  would  indicate  the  general 
level  of  intelligence  of  this  delinquent  group  and  would 
therefore  show  to  some  extent  the  source  of  the  moral 
delinquency.  They  would  at  least  indicate  the  sort  of 
re-education  that  was  needed  for  this  group  of  adults. 
If  systematic  mental  surveys  were  given  in  the  schools, 
we  would  be  able  to  isolate  for  special  case  study  many 
of  the  individuals  who  would  later  drift  into  this  criminal 
class,  and  by  making  a  special  study  of  these  individuals 
the  problem  of  dealing  with  this  delinquent  class  would 
be  met  at  the  source  and  by  means  of  special  educational 
treatment  and  training  in  habit  formation,  which  would 
naturally  be  injected  into  our  treatment  of  these  individ- 
uals, we  might  prevent  the  development  of  those  vicious 
innate  tendencies  which  make  this  class  a  menace  to 
society.  We  would  at  least  secure  a  real  factual  basis  for 
dealing  with  the  problem  at  its  inception. 

(&)  Location  and  treatment  of  the  feebleminded.  One  of 
the  most  important  functions  of  the  mental  survey  is  to 
locate  those  who  possess  the  most  inferior  grades  of  intelli- 
gence found  among  the  individuals  of  any  unselected 
group.  By  means  of  group  intelligence  tests  these  in- 
dividuals may  be  located  in  the  same  manner  that  those 
possessing  the  most  superior  grades  of  intelligence  for  their 
age  were  identified.  By  further  individual  examinations 
the  degree  of  mental  deficiency  may  be  accurately  de- 
termined and  a  true  basis  established  for  educational 
treatment.  This  would  give  to  the  superintendent  a 
proper  basis  for  determining  both  the  content  and  method 
which  should  be  employed  in  their  education. 


VALUE   AND   USES   OF   MENTAL   TESTS       345 

Intelligence  tests  not  only  show  the  numerous  grades  of 
intelligence  actually  found  in  any  unselected  group  of 
individuals,  but  show  that  those  who  fall  below  a  certain 
level  will  never  be  able  to  succeed  with  certain  types  of 
school  work  no  matter  how  much  or  long  they  try.  These 
should  be  segregated  at  once  for  special  educational  treat- 
ment. The  feebleminded  and  certain  grades  of  morons 
should  be  segregated  early  not  merely  for  special  educa- 
tional treatment,  but  also  to  be  protected  from  the  com- 
petition of  normal  individuals  and  from  each  other.  By 
such  prophylactic  measures  we  shall  not  merely  serve 
best  this  unfortunate  class,  but  also  protect  society  from 
the  crime,  pauperism,  and  industrial  inefficiency  which 
can  be  traced  directly  to  this  class  of  individuals  and  to 
the  fact  that  they  have  not  been  properly  trained  or  taken 
care  of.  Intelligence  tests  and  the  mental  survey  are  the 
only  means  by  which  these  individuals  may  be  surely 
identified  and  the  degree  of  defectiveness  ascertained. 

6.  Conserving  human  talents  and  capacities  in  busi- 
ness and  industry.  Intelligence  tests  and  mental  surveys 
may  also  be  made  a  means  for  the  conservation  of  talents 
and  human  capacities  in  the  fields  of  business  and  industry. 
We  can  only  speculate  concerning  the  amount  of  social 
waste  which  results  from  the  fact  that  the  right  individual 
is  not  in  the  right  occupation.  Much  social  waste  could 
be  prevented  if  employment  managers  would  only  try  to 
fit  workers  to  the  types  of  work  that  are  adapted  to 
their  intellectual  capacities. 

For  this,  intelligence  tests  are  necessary  and  if  followed 
up  by  appropriate  vocational  and  trade  tests  which  de- 


346      INTELLIGENCE   OF   HIGH   SCHOOL   SENIORS 

termine  the  special  mental  characteristics  and  skills 
required  for  different  lines  of  work,  the  employees  in  any 
business  or  industry  could  in  time  be  placed  more  nearly 
in  the  right  vocation  than  would  ever  happen  as  a  result 
of  mere  chance,  or  from  the  operation  of  the  law  of  the 
survival  of  the  fittest  in  different  lines  of  work.  And  we 
have  said  nothing  {about  the  enormous  gain  that  would 
come  from  the  change  in  attitude  which  would  take  place 
in  the  minds  of  workers  if  in  some  manner  they  could 
always  be  connected  up  with  a  job  in  harmony  with  their 
mental  capacity  and  intellectual  interests. 

7.  The  mental  survey  and  social  service.  Lastly, 
intelligence  tests  are  an  aid  to  social  workers  because 
they  may  help  them  to  understand  that  great  body  of  indi- 
viduals who  are  objects  of  public  charity.  Pauperism 
and  vagrancy,  even  more  than  crime,  result  from  inferior 
mental  capacity.  They  are  chiefly  due  to  the  fact 
that  the  individual  is  unable  to  compete  in  the  modern 
economic  and  industrial  world  with  individuals  of  average 
or  better  grades  of  intelligence.  These  less  fortunately 
endowed  individuals  do  not  need  to  be  clothed  and  fed  at 
public  expense  so  much  as  they  need  to  be  protected  from 
normal  competition,  by  training  them  for  some  necessary 
occupation,  which  is  adapted  to  their  intellectual  capacity, 
and  one  which  will  enable  them  to  become  self-supporting 
and  happy  because  they  have  been  helped  to  help  themselves. 
The  mental  survey  may  be  employed  in  devising  methods 
of  dealing  scientifically  with  this  group  of  individuals: 
(1)  by  finding  tasks  which  are  adapted  to  their  mental 
strength.  It  will  help  to  determine  what  in  the  way  of 


VALUE   AND   USES   OF   MENTAL   TESTS       347 

training  and  dependability  may  reasonably  be  expected 
from  individuals  with  their  grade  of  intelligence.  (2)  It 
may  be  used  to  determine  which  occupations  require 
that  particular  grade  of  intelligence  for  successful  per- 
formance. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

NEED    FOR    SYSTEMATIC    AND   COOPERATIVE    RE- 
SEARCH IN  THE  HUMANISTIC  SCIENCES 

1.  Need  for  cooperation.  For  carrying  on  such  sys- 
tematic mental  surveys  of  a  social  and  educational  nature, 
a  program  of  cooperative  research  should  be  carefully 
planned  and  pursued  through  a  period  of  years.  A  group  of 
specially  trained  men  and  women  at  the  universities  should 
cooperate  with  select  groups  of  teachers,  superintendents, 
and  social  workers  who  are  in  first-hand  touch  with  the  prob- 
lems to  be  solved.  For  to  deal  with  the  problem  of  edu- 
cation and  social  betterment  in  an  efficient  and  economi- 
cal way,  we  must  have  a  more  comprehensive  and  accurate 
knowledge  of  the  facts  that  pertain  to  the  problems  which 
are  to  be  solved  by  those  whose  business  it  is  to  change 
human  nature  in  accordance  with  our  best  ideals.  The 
need  for  such  a  comprehensive  and  systematic  program  of 
research  is  apparent.  We  are  groping  too  much  in  the 
dark  with  regard  to  all  these  important  problems  and  can 
never  make  more  rapid  progress  in  their  solution  than  that 
which  results  from  the  use  of  the  trial  and  error  method 
until  we  have  a  more  exact  knowledge  of  the  pertinent 
facts.  A  single  illustration  will  make  this  fact  clear. 

We  do  not  yet  know  what,  in  an  educational  way,  may 

348 


NEED   FOR   COOPERATIVE    RESEARCH        349 

reasonably  be  expected  from  individuals  who  vary  so 
greatly  in  mental  ability  as  those  studied  in  this  investi- 
gation, and  we  have  no  practical  methods  for  measuring 
school  progress  in  the  light  of  the  native  mental  endowment 
of  school  children.  In  the  field  of  social  service  and  reform 
we  do  not  know  how  to  prevent  crime,  how  to  reform 
criminals,  how  to  conserve  child  life  and  health,  because  we 
do  not  have  the  facts  which  enable  us  to  act  intelligently 
with  regard  to  the  problems  in  these  fields.  Much  careful 
and  painstaking  research  is  needed  before  these  and  other 
important  problems  can  be  systematically  solved. 

Such  research  must,  we  believe,  be  undertaken  by  the 
universities  working  in  close  cooperation  with  the  practical 
workers  in  the  field,  so  that  the  searchlight  of  science  may 
be  thrown  upon  their  problems  and  the  investigations  of 
the  specialist  at  the  university  sharply  directed  towards  the 
solution  of  the  practical  problems  which  the  workers  in 
the  field  are  called  upon  to  solve.  This  is  not  only  possible 
but  highly  desirable  for  reasons  which  follow. 

2.  Value  of  organized  effort  in  research.  It  has  been 
shown  that  man's  native  mental  curiosity,  which  is  chiefly 
responsible  for  the  success  of  science  and  the  discovery  of 
all  truth,  may  be  harnessed,  as  it  were,  or  set  to  work  on  a 
program  of  research  which  requires  the  labor  of  many 
hands  and  the  best  efforts  of  individuals  with  the  most 
diverse  capacities  and  interests.  As  was  so  well  shown  by 
our  experience  in  the  World  War,  practical  men  and  scien- 
tists, representing  various  fields  of  research,  may  be  or- 
ganized and  set  to  work  upon  a  program  of  research  that 
will  prove  immediately  helpful  for  the  solution  of  impor- 


350   INTELLIGENCE    OF    HIGH    SCHOOL    SENIORS 

tant  present-day  problems  in  any  field.  By  such  coopera- 
tion and  concentrated  effort  results  may  be  obtained  far 
superior  to  any  that  are  possible  by  the  use  of  the  more 
spasmodic  scientific  procedure,  which  has  been  the  fashion 
in  every  department  of  science  up  to  the  present  time. 
This  is  true  for  the  same  reasons  that  modern  business  and 
industry  have  found  such  cooperation  and  organization 
necessary  to  achieve  the  greatest  results  with  the  least 
expenditure  of  time  and  effort.  It  needs  only  to  be  re- 
membered that  in  such  a  program  of  research  the  individ- 
ual scientists  who  venture  farthest  beyond  the  bounds  of 
the  known  must  be  given  full  freedom  for  the  play  of  their 
mental  curiosity  while  working  on  any  particular  problem 
or  in  such  a  definitely  limited  field. 

3.  Part  to  be  played  by  the  university.  In  any  such 
scheme  for  cooperative  research  the  university  must  play 
the  leading  role.  It  is  in  the  university  that  the  facts  must 
be  determined  which  will  guide  the  practical  workers  in  the 
field.  The  technique  for  such  cooperative  work  and  the 
methods  of  research  must  be  developed  by  a  corps  of 
specialists  at  the  university.  We  need  give  but  a  single 
example  and  may  take  it  from  the  field  of  mental  measure- 
ments as  applied  to  the  problems  discussed  in  the  pre- 
ceding chapters. 

Such  specialists  must  devise  and  verify  a  method  for 
evaluating  and  measuring  school  accomplishment.  They 
must  devise  methods  which  will  enable  teachers  and  super- 
intendents to  determine  the  causes  of  school  failure.  They 
must  devise  and  verify  methods  which  will  enable  educa- 
tors and  teachers  to  measure  the  progress  that  is  made  in 


NEED   FOR   COOPERATIVE   RESEARCH        351 

all  standard  forms  of  acquisition  or  learning.  They  must 
show  how  a  "vital  index"  for  school  children  may  be  de- 
termined, and  used  in  adapting  the  work  of  the  school  to 
their  vital  as  well  as  to  their  intellectual  capacity.  They 
should  determine  how  best  to  cultivate  such  important 
mental  abilities  as  attention,  memory,  the  power  of  correct 
observation ;  and  devise  and  verify  methods  for  the  meas- 
urement of  persistence,  mental  attitude,  ingenuity,  and 
other  mental  characteristics  important  for  success  in 
school  and  life. 

4.  Need  for  adequate  financial  support.    Such  prob- 
lems cannot  be  solved  by  the  practical   workers  in  the 
field.     They  must  be  worked  out  by  a  corps  of  specialists 
at  the  university,  who  are  supported  by  state  or  federal 
appropriations  or  by   special   and   private   foundations, 
sufficient  in  amount  and  constant  enough  in  character 
to  enable  them  to  formulate  and  carry  to  successful  com- 
pletion extended  programs  of  research.     These  specialists 
must  also  take  the  lead  in  directing  the  work  of  teachers, 
superintendents,  and  social  workers  who  are  to  make 
their  contributions  by  applying  the  facts  so  discovered 
and  by  trying  out  in  their  mental  and  social  surveys  the 
methods  and  technique  which  have  been  devised  by  the 
scientists  at  the  university. 

5.  Scales  and  materials  now    available    for    making 
such  systematic  school   and   community   surveys.    For 
making  such  school  and  community  surveys  as  we  have 
suggested  in  the  preceding  chapters,  reliable  methods  of 
measurement  with  appropriate  scales  for  such  measure- 
ments have  already  been  developed.     A  group  scale  for 


352      INTELLIGENCE   OF   HIGH   SCHOOL   SENIORS 

measuring  the  intelligence  of  school  children,  applicable 
both  to  the  elementary  grades  and  to  high  school,  has  been 
developed  by  Drs.  S.  L.  Pressey  and  L.  W.  Pressey,  Re- 
search Assistants  in  the  Department  of  Psychology  at 
Indiana  University;  and  "school  attainment"  tests  in 
the  fundamental  school  subjects  to  be  used  in  conjunction 
with  these  intelligence  tests  for  the  evaluation  of  the  work 
of  teachers,  classes,  or  schools  are  also  being  developed  and 
tested. 

A  group  point  scale  of  intelligence  adapted  to  measuring 
the  intelligence  of  pupils  in  the  first  three  school  grades 
and  learning  or  achievement  tests  devised  to  evaluate  and 
measure  the  progress  made  in  reading,  spelling,  and  the 
fundamental  arithmetical  processes  to  be  learned  in  the 
elementary  grades  have  already  been  prepared.  These 
may  be  obtained  from  the  Department  of  Psychology, 
Indiana  University,  at  cost  of  printing  and  handling.  As 
a  matter  of  fact,  the  present  investigation  is  only  one  of  a 
series  of  studies  that  have  been  undertaken  in  the  field  of 
mental  measurements  at  Indiana  University.  Two  re- 
search assistants  are  devoting  their  entire  time  to  de- 
vising methods  and  technique  for  the  solution  of 
important  educational  and  social  problems  in  the  field 
of  mental  measurements  as  well  as  giving  help  to  super- 
intendents, teachers,  and  social  workers  in  the  use  of  the 
materials  and  methods  worked  out  in  our  own  and  other 
laboratories. 

A  number  of  other  reliable  group  intelligence  scales  are 
also  available  for  making  such  mental  and  social  surveys. 
Among  these  should  be  mentioned  the  Otis  scale,  the  Hag- 


NEED   FOR   COOPERATIVE   RESEARCH        353 

gerty  scale,  the  Terman  Group  scale,  the  Meyers  scale,  the 
Pintner  scale,  the  Dearborn  scale,  and  the  National  Com- 
mittee scale.  Most  of  these  may  be  obtained  from  the 
World  Book  Co.,  Yonkers,  New  York.  For  detailed  in- 
dividual examinations  and  case  study  the  Stanford  Re- 
vision of  the  Binet  scale  and  the  Kuhlmann  intelligence 
tests  are  on  the  whole  the  best. 

A  similar  service  to  that  described  above,  for  mental 
testing,  is  being  organized  by  our  laboratory  for  industry 
and  business.  That  is  to  say,  psychological  methods  are 
being  devised  and  applied  to  the  more  important  human 
problems  encountered  in  these  fields.  A  similar  program 
for  cooperative  research  might  be  planned  for  a  number  of 
other  fields  of  human  activity  where  psychological  laws 
and  principles  are  an  important  factor  in  conditioning 
human  affairs.  This  is  particularly  true  in  the  field  of 
child  welfare  work. 

6.  New  science  of  human  engineering  possible.  In 
some  such  manner  a  real  science  of  human  engineering  may 
be  developed  which  would  have  for  its  goal  the  betterment 
of  the  race  and  the  discovery  of  such  facts  as  would  enable 
us  to  cultivate  and  improve  all  of  man's  abilities.  In  the 
past,  scientific  endeavor  has  been  directed  chiefly  towards 
the  discovery  of  facts  that  would  enable  us  to  understand 
and  improve  the  physical  conditions  under  which  man 
must  live  and  work.  It  is  time  that  we  directed  our  scien- 
tific work  towards  problems  whose  solution  would  enable 
us  to  improve  the  race  itself.  If  comprehensive  methods 
of  research  in  this  field  were  wisely  planned  and  systemat- 
ically carried  out,  we  would  soon  be  able  to  deal  on  a  factual 


354     INTELLIGENCE   OF   HIGH   SCHOOL  SENIORS 

basis  with  many  things  about  which  we  can  at  present  only 
dream,  because  science  would  be  harnessed,  as  it  were, 
and  made  to  do  service  in  showing  us  how  human  nature 
itself  might  be  changed  in  accordance  with  the  highest 
ideals  we  hold  concerning  the  possibilities  and  purposes  of 
human  life  in  the  world. 

7.  General  conclusion.  What  is  needed  to-day  is  more 
and  better  trained  workers  for  such  programs  of  coopera- 
tive research  as  have  been  suggested  above,  and  adequate 
financial  support  to  carry  on  the  work.  The  best  things 
in  the  world  have  not  yet  happened.  The  best  history 
remains  to  be  written.  Science,  particularly  the  human- 
istic branch,  is  only  in  its  infancy.  The  man  who 
thinks  that  the  most  important  discoveries  have  been 
made  is  intellectually  blind.  What  is  needed  is  a  clearer 
vision  of  what  can  and  ought  to  be  done  by  means  of 
systematic  research ;  a  greater  willingness  on  the  part  of 
those  who  have  been  specially  trained  for  scientific  work 
to  cooperate  among  themselves  and  with  the  practical 
workers  in  the  field  on  important  programs  of  research; 
and  sufficient  financial  support  to  stimulate  the  best 
young  men  and  women  in  each  state  to  elect  and  prepare 
for  a  scientific  career. 

If  this  study  of  the  intelligence  of  high  school  seniors  has 
made  only  a  slight  contribution  to  that  body  of  facts 
which,  when  fully  determined,  will  enable  us  better  to  con- 
serve our  human  resources  and  talents;  or  if  it  will  but 
help  to  stimulate  those  who  can  and  should  cooperate  in 
such  humanistic  research;  or  if  it  will  suggest  to  those 
who  have  the  means  to  support  or  endow  such  scientific 


NEED    FOR    COOPERATIVE    RESEARCH       355 

work,  that  such  support  constitutes  one  of  the  greatest 
opportunities  for  permanent  social  service  that  is  to  be 
found  in  the  world,  the  fondest  hopes  of  the  writer  will 
have  been  realized. 


INDEX 


Ability  index,  330. 

Ablest  seniors  (see  also  Brightest 
seniors),  problem  of  locating 
them,  1 ;  college  intention,  3,  36 ; 
special  abilities  should  be  con- 
served and  cultivated,  2 ;  extent 
to  which  their  special  abilities 
are  conserved  by  the  school,  4, 
301 ;  chief  vocational  and  scho- 
lastic interests  of,  113,  159;  kind 
of  vocational  direction  needed,  5. 

Academic  courses,  per  cent  of  sen- 
iors taking,  144 ;  general  level 
of  intelligence  of  seniors  complet- 
ing, 145,  152 ;  range  of  intelli- 
gence of  seniors  completing,  146- 
148,  149 ;  per  cent  graduating 
from,  going  to  college,  154,  155 ; 
per  cent  completing,  who  were 
accelerated  or  retarded,  152- 
153  ;  brightest  students  are  tak- 
ing, 148,  156. 

Acceleration,  kind  of  students  ac- 
celerated, 47,  66-71 ;  number  of 
seniors  accelerated,  retarded,  and 
regularly  promoted,  48-59 ;  in- 
telligence of  seniors  accelerated, 
54-71 ;  frequency  curves  for  sen- 
iors accelerated,  63,  64 ;  bright- 
est seniors  not  accelerated,  66—71, 
84-85 ;  seniors  with  high  average 
intelligence  accelerated  more  than 
the  brightest,  68,  71-72;  per 
cent  possessing  each  grade  of  in- 
telligence accelerated  by  the 
school,  69-72 ;  senior  boys  and 
girls  accelerated  by  the  high  and 
elementary  school,  75-76 ;  in 
elementary  schools,  83 ;  in  high 
school,  83. 


Accomplishment,  new  method  for 
evaluating  school  accomplish- 
ment, 329-330,  340-343. 

Adaptation,  of  the  school  to  indi- 
vidual differences  in  mental  en- 
dowment, 47,  51-54 ;  of  work  of 
high  school  to  interests  and 
needs  of  boys,  47,  72-83,  276- 
280 ;  of  high  school  to  inequali- 
ties in  mental  strength  of  its  stu- 
dents, 87,  110-112,  296-298; 
to  vocational  and  social  needs  of 
its  students,  115-116;  to  needs 
of  students  with  most  superior 
ability,  259,  316-317;  to  group 
and  community  differences,  328- 
329. 

Adjustment*(see  also  High  school), 
of  college  and  high  school  work 
to  need  of  brightest  students, 
43-44 ;  to  inequalities  in  men- 
tal strength  of  students,  90. 

Age  groups,  percentile  curves  for 
various,  59 ;  frequency  curves 
for,  60-61 ;  range  of  intelligence 
of  various,  66-67. 

Agricultural  districts,  furnish  the 
highest  percentage  of  seniors 
with  very  superior  ability,  235- 
237,  239-241. 

Aims,  of  survey,  1 ;  of  education 
in  a  democracy,  312-322. 

American  high  school  (see  also 
High  school),  democratic  in  ap- 
peal, 185. 

Artisan  (skilled  artisan  group), 
number  of  representatives  in  sen- 
ior classes,  188 ;  general  level  of 
intelligence  of  group,  192-193 ; 
range  of  intelligence  for  group, 


357 


358 


INDEX 


194-198 ;  frequency  curves  for 
boys  and  girls  belonging  to  this 
occupational  class,  202 ;  grades 
of  intelligence  possessed  by  the 
group,  198 ;  sex  differences,  193, 
201 ;  has  less  than  normal  quota 
in  high  school,  188-189,  203. 

Binet,  Alfred,  105. 

Book,  W.  F.,  mental  survey  of  an 
Indiana  county,  10;  variations 
in  mental  ability  and  its  distri- 
bution in  an  Indiana  County,  11, 
309. 

Boys,  rank  higher  on  mental  tests 
than  girls,  19,  270-271,  273-274, 
277,  290 ;  percentile  scores  com- 
pared with  girls,  270 ;  frequency 
curves  for,  274,  275 ;  range  of 
intelligence  of,  272 ;  brightest 
seniors  in  state  are  boys,  273 ; 
college  intention  of,  273 ;  scho- 
lastic record  of,  276 ;  not  ad- 
vanced by  the  school  as  rapidly 
and  consistently  as  the  girls, 
276-280 ;  vocational  interests  of, 
280-282 ;  vocations  selected  by 
brightest  boys,  281 ;  range  of 
intelligence  of  boys  choosing 
same  occupations,  282 ;  scholas- 
tic interests  of,  282-284  ;  favor- 
ite study  and  course  of  brightest 
and  dullest  boys,  284-285 ;  boys 
representing  the  skilled  artisan 
and  day  laborer  classes  far  su- 
perior on  the  mental  tests  to  girls 
from  same  classes,  287,  292 ; 
from  wealthiest  homes  rank  high 
on  intelligence  tests,  288. 

Brightest  seniors,  method  of  locat- 
ing, 1,  259,  295-296 ;  college  in- 
tention of,  1,  36,  38-39;  going 
to  colleges  of  liberal  arts,  275 ; 
geographical  distribution  of,  258- 
260 ;  not  accelerated  by  school, 
66,  69,  84,  93;  only  regularly 
promoted,  68,  72,  87 ;  not  going 
to  college,  36,  39,  275-276,  298 ; 


not  located  by  teachers  and  prin- 
cipals, 301 ;  should  be  definitely 
located  and  helped  to  make  the 
most  of  their  superior  talents, 
42-43,  316-317;  more  numer- 
ous in  country  districts,  235- 
237,  239-241,  243,  261-262;  oc- 
cupations selected  by,  126,  304 ; 
high  school  studies  which  they 
prefer,  162 ;  their  distribution 
among  different  occupational 
classes,  194 ;  distribution  among 
various  economic  groups,  213 ; 
educational  direction  of,  3  ;  their 
special  abilities  not  conserved  by 
the  schools,  296-298,  301,  316; 
allowed  to  form  habits  of  men- 
tal laziness,  88;  not  adequately 
served  by  school,  90-91 ;  not 
given  highest  school  marks,  100 ; 
have  selected  their  life  work, 
120-121 ;  occupations  selected 
by.  133,  140-141;  often  select 
occupations  not  commensurate 
to  their  mental  ability,  130; 
type  of  high  school  course  taken 
by,  145,  147,  149;  high  school 
studies  preferred  by  brightest  and 
dullest  seniors,  162-166, 181 ;  come 
from  professional  class,  196,  205. 

Business,  number  of  seniors  select- 
ing business  as  a  life  career,  123 ; 
intelligence  rating  of  this  occu- 
pational group,  124,  126-129, 
132 ;  per  cent  of  seniors  choos- 
ing a  business  career,  going  to 
college,  137-138. 

Business  executives,  number  of 
seniors  representing  this  occu- 
pational group,  188 ;  general 
level  of  ability  of  this  occupa- 
tional class,  192-194,  204;  range 
of  intelligence  of  group,  194-198 ; 
grades  of  intelligence  possessed 
by  the  group,  198 ;  sex  differ- 
ences within  the  group,  193 ;  has 
twice  its  normal  quota  of  seniors 
in  high  school,  188,  203. 


INDEX 


359 


Capacity,  mental  capacity  of  sen- 
iors coming  from  different  occupa- 
tional groups,  7 ;  from  different 
economic  groups,  9 ;  conserva- 
tion of  human  capacities  and  tal- 
ents, 311-330.  (See  also  Conser- 
vation and  Talents.) 

City  high  schools,  compared  with 
rural  on  basis  of  intelligence, 
234-238;  number  of  seniors 
from,  scoring  at  each  intelligence 
level,  236 ;  range  of  intelligence 
of  seniors  in,  237. 

Classes,  various  occupational 
classes  represented  in  Indiana 
high  schools,  186 ;  number  of  sen- 
iors belonging  to  each  occupa- 
tional class,  187-188 ;  per  cent  of 
total  workers  in  state  engaged  in 
these  several  occupations,  188 ; 
economic  classes  or  groups  hav- 
ing representatives  in  the  high 
school,  209-210. 

Classical  course,  per  cent  of  stu- 
dents completing,  144 ;  general 
level  of  intelligence  of  students 
completing,  145,  152 ;  range  of 
intelligence  of  students  pursu- 
ing, 146-148;  per  cent  graduat- 
ing from,  going  to  college,  154-155; 
per  cent  completing,  who  were  ac- 
celerated and  retarded  by  the 
school,  152-153 ;  brightest  seniors 
do  not  select  a,  156 ;  frequency 
curve  for  this  course-group,  151. 

Classification,  of  students  on  basis 
of  mental  strength,  334-335. 

Clerical  workers,  number  selecting 
this  occupation  as  life  career, 
123 ;  intelligence  rating  of  this 
occupational  group,  124-129, 136 ; 
per  cent  selecting  this  occupa- 
tion going  to  college,  157-158 ; 
number  of  seniors  representing 
this  occupational  class,  188 ;  gen- 
eral level  of  intelligence  of 
seniors  representing,  192-193 ; 
range  of  intelligence  for  group, 


194—198 ;  number  representing 
this  group  scoring  at  each  intel- 
ligence level,  198,  204 ;  sex  dif- 
ferences within  the  group,  193, 
204 ;  have  about  normal  quota 
in  high  school,  189. 

Clerks  (see  Salesmen  and  clerks). 

College,  intelligence  of  seniors  go- 
ing to  college,  27,  29-30,  32-35 ; 
college  intention  of  brightest 
and  dullest  seniors,  36,  298 ;  col- 
lege intention  of  seniors  possess- 
ing each  grade  of  intelligence, 
38 ;  effect  of  high  school  course 
on  choice  of  college,  154 ;  influ- 
ence of  favorite  study  on  col- 
lege intention,  176;  high  school 
courses  sending  most  students 
to  college,  153 ;  colleges  not  at- 
tracting ablest  seniors,  37-39; 
colleges  not  adequately  meeting 
needs  of  most  superior  seniors, 
41-13,  298-301,  321-322;  grade 
of  intelligence  required  for  suc- 
cess in  college,  41,  43;  colleges 
not  truly  democratic,  320. 

College  preparatory  course,  per 
cent  completing,  144 ;  general 
level  of  intelligence  of  seniors 
completing,  145 ;  range  of  in- 
telligence of  seniors  taking,  146- 
148 ;  per  cent  completing,  which 
had  been  accelerated  or  retarded, 
152 ;  per  cent  completing,  going 
to  college,  154-155. 

Commercial  course,  per  cent  of  sen- 
iors pursuing,  144 ;  general  level 
of  intelligence  of  seniors  complet- 
ing, 145-149 ;  range  of  intelli- 
gence of  seniors  completing,  146- 
148;  per  cent  completing,  who 
had  been  accelerated  or  retarded 
by  the  school,  152 ;  grades  of  in- 
telligence possessed  by  seniors 
completing,  150 ;  college  inten- 
tion of  seniors  completing,  154— 
155 ;  frequency  curve  for  seniors 
pursuing,  150. 


360 


INDEX 


Community  differences,  kind  and 
amount,  238-243,  260-264 ;  their 
practical  significance,  266-268. 

Conclusions,  on  general  results  of 
survey,  293-309 ;  on  college  in- 
tention of  high  school  seniors, 
40-42 ;  on  relation  of  intelli- 
gence to  school  progress,  86-92 ; 
on  intelligence  and  school  suc- 
cess, 109-112;  on  vocational  in- 
terest and  occupational  choice, 
139-142 ;  on  scholastic  interest, 
156-158,  181-184;  on  relation 
of  intelligence  and  economic  and 
occupational  status,  205-208, 
219-220 ;  on  sectional,  commu- 
nity, and  class  differences,  260- 
268 ;  on  sex  differences,  289- 
292 ;  on  need  for  systematic  and 
cooperative  research,  354. 

Conservation,  of  human  resources 
of  state,  1-2,  315-327;  of  hu- 
man capacities  and  talents,  27, 
89,  269,  311-330 ;  of  best  talents, 
299-300,  315 ;  of  all  grades  and 
types  of  ability,  317,  322-323, 
305-307,  314-315,  330;  social 
waste  caused  by  our  inability  to 
conserve  human  capacities  and 
talents,  44,  336-337. 

Correlation,  between  intelligence 
rating  and  school  success,  103- 
107,  109-110;  between  intelli- 
gence and  school  marks  in  spe- 
cific subjects,  104-105 ;  negative 
correlation  between  intelligence 
and  age  at  graduation,  57. 

Curriculum,  kinds  given  in  Indi- 
ana high  schools,  143 ;  impor- 
tance of  high  school  curriculum, 
183-184 ;  intelligence  of  seniors 
pursuing  different  curricula,  144- 
149. 

Curves  (see  Frequency  curves  and 
Distribution  curves). 

Day  laborers,  number  representing 
this  occupational  group  in  sen- 


ior classes,  188;  general  level  of 
intelligence  of  group,  192-194 ; 
range  of  intelligence  of  this  group 
of  seniors,  194-198 ;  number  at 
each  intelligence  level,  198,  202 ; 
sex  differences  within  the  group, 
193,  202 ;  have  only  about  one- 
third  their  normal  quota  in  In- 
diana high  schools,  188,  203. 

Diagnoses,  individual,  331 ;  group, 
340. 

Differences,  sex,  8,  40.  72-83,  168, 
201,  269-292;  individual,  19, 
295 ;  between  northern,  central, 
and  southern  sections  of  state, 
228-233,  261-263;  between  dif- 
ferent types  of  communities.  234, 
238,  241,  260-263  ;  between  sen- 
ior classes  in  individual  schools, 
243-252,  263-266 ;  class,  school, 
and  community  differences,  308 ; 
group  differences,  266,  267,  308- 
309,  328-329 ;  between  sections, 
communities,  and  individual 
schools,  8,  221,  308;  community 
and  sectional  differences,  260; 
in  vocational  and  scholastic  in- 
terests, 304-305. 

Discussion,  of  general  results  of  sur- 
vey, 293-355 ;  of  relation  be- 
tween intelligence  and  college 
intention,  40;  of  relation  be- 
tween intelligence  and  school 
progress,  86,  109-112;  of  rela- 
tion between  intelligence  and 
choice  of  life  occupation,  139  ;  of 
relation  between  intelligence  and 
high  school  course  pursued,  156; 
of  relation  between  intelligence 
and  favorite  study  in  high  school, 
181-184 ;  of  relation  between  in- 
telligence and  occupational  sta- 
tus of  parents,  219 ;  of  commu- 
nity and  class  differences  in  intel- 
ligence, 266-268;  of  sex  differ- 
ences, 289  ;  of  situation  revealed 
by  mental  survey,  293 ;  of  read- 
justments and  reforms  suggested 


INDEX 


361 


by  the  results  of  the  survey,  311- 
330 ;  of  value  and  uses  of  intel- 
ligence tests  and  mental  surveys, 
331-347 ;  of  need  for  coopera- 
tive research,  348-354 ;  of  rela- 
tion between  occupation  and  in- 
telligence, 205-208. 
Distribution,  of  brightest  seniors 
in  state,  260 ;  curve  showing 
grades  of  intelligence  possessed 
by  total  group,  21.  (See  also 
Frequency  curves.) 

Economic  classes,  represented  in 
Indiana  high  schools,  210;  send- 
ing most  students  to  high 
school,  210;  general  level  of  in- 
telligence of  representatives  of 
each,  211-213;  range  of  intelli- 
gence of  representatives  of  each, 
213-215 ;  number  belonging  to 
each,  scoring  at  various  intelli- 
gence levels,  217-219 ;  worst  eco- 
nomic sections  of  state  have 
largest  percentage  of  seniors  with 
most  superior  ability,  243  ;  com- 
parison of  intelligence  of  seniors 
from  best  and  worst  economic 
sections,  241-243,  262 ;  compari- 
son of  economic  status  and  intel- 
ligence, 209 ;  brightest  seniors 
come  from  homes  where  income 
is  low,  213-214;  wealthiest 
group  has  no  representatives  in 
most  superior  group  of  seniors, 
213,  220;  sex  differences  among 
representatives  of  different,  215- 
216. 

Education,  meaning  and  purpose 
of,  in  a  democracy,  1,  312-315, 
317-318. 

Educational  direction,  of  brightest 
seniors,  3 ;  need  for  better,  323, 
337 ;  value  of  intelligence  rating 
for,  5-6 ;  should  precede  voca- 
tional guidance,  326,  337-338. 

Endowment,  mental,  and  school 
success,  4,  46,  93,  309;  of  sen- 


iors coming  from  different  occu- 
pational and  economic  classes, 
7 ;  differences  between  communi- 
ties and  schools,  8 ;  grades  pos- 
sessed by  high  school  seniors,  19- 
•22 ;  as  a  determinant  of  one's 
vocation  in  life,  189 ;  variations 
in  individual  schools,  244—252. 

Engineering,  number  selecting  this 
occupation  as  life  career,  123 ; 
intelligence  rating  of  this  occu- 
pational group,  124-127,  129; 
per  cent  of  prospective  engineers 
going  to  technical  colleges,  137- 
138. 

English,  number  preferring  Eng- 
lish as  a  favorite  study,  160 ;  in- 
telligence of  seniors  selecting 
English  as  favorite  study,  161- 
166,  177-178;  sex  differences, 
165-166. 

Entertainer,  number  of  seniors  se- 
lecting as  life  occupation,  123 ; 
intelligence  rating  of  this  occu- 
pational group,  125-129. 

Examiner's  guide,  special  copy  pre- 
pared for  principals  and  teachers, 
12 ;  its  contents  and  purpose,  13. 

Factors  conditioning  school  suc- 
cess, 309-310.  (See  also  School 
success.) 

Farming,  number  of  seniors  select- 
ing as  life  occupation,  123 ;  in- 
telligence of  this  occupational 
group,  124,  126-127,  129,  131, 
133,  281 ;  per  cent  choosing 
farming  as  life  occupation  go- 
ing to  college,  137-138 ;  number 
of  seniors  representing  the  fanner 
class,  188 ;  general  level  of  in- 
telligence of  farmer  class,  192- 
198,  204 ;  range  of  intelligence 
for  the  group,  194-198;  number 
belonging  to  this  class  who  score 
at  each  intelligence  level,  198- 
199  ;  sex  differences  within  the 
group,  193,  195,  200;  has  more 


362 


INDEX 


than  its  normal  quota  in  high 
school,  189;  representatives  of 
this  class  ranked  lowest  on  the 
mental  tests,  192-193,  205. 

Favorite  study,  of  brightest  and 
dullest  seniors,  162-166,  172, 
176 ;  its  effect  upon  choice  of  an 
occupation,  135,  158,  174-176, 
180 ;  influence  upon  college  in- 
tention, 176-177,  180;  selected 
by  largest  number  of  seniors, 
160;  of  the  boys,  177-181,  284; 
of  the  girls,  177-181,  284;  se- 
lected by  brightest  and  dullest 
boys,  285 ;  selected  by  brightest 
and  dullest  girls,  285 ;  favorite- 
study  groups  ranking  highest  in 
intelligence,  161-162. 

Feebleminded,  location  and  treat- 
ment, 344-345. 

Foreign  language,  intelligence  of 
seniors  selecting  as  favorite  study, 
161-162,  164,  177;  number  of 
seniors  selecting  foreign  language 
as  favorite  study,  178 ;  never  se- 
lected by  brightest  boys,  178 ; 
sex  differences,  165-166,  168- 
174. 

Frequency,  of  different  grades  of 
intelligence  among  high  school 
seniors,  23  ;  among  seniors  with 
different  college  intentions,  32- 
34. 

Frequency  curves  for  seniors,  going 
to  liberal  arts  colleges,  34 ;  not 
going  to  college,  33 ;  going  to 
technical  and  professional  schools, 
34;  accelerated,  retarded,  and 
regularly  promoted  in  school,  60- 
64 ;  for  accelerated  boys  and 
girls,  78,  80-81 ;  boys  and  girls 
making  an  excellent  and  poor 
scholastic  record  in  high  school, 
101-102 ;  selecting  different  oc- 
cupational careers,  130 ;  select- 
ing farming  and  science  as  their 
life  occupations,  131 ;  select- 
ing business,  the  ministry,  skilled 


mechanics,  132;  selecting  medi- 
cine, law,  or  teaching,  133 ;  se- 
lecting nursing,  134 ;  selecting 
journalism,  music,  and  art,  135 ; 
selecting  clerical  work,  stenog- 
raphy, etc.,  136;  completing 
commercial  and  scientific  courses, 
150 ;  completing  academic,  vo- 
cational, and  classical  courses, 
151 ;  belonging  to  various  favor- 
ite-study groups,  166-167 ;  be- 
longing to  professional  and  farmer 
groups,  199-200,  203 ;  boys  and 
girls  representing  the  skilled 
artisan  class,  201 ;  boys  and  girls 
representing  the  day  laborer 
group,  202 ;  boys  and  girls  rep- 
resenting clerical  workers,  204; 
representing  various  economic 
groups,  217,  219 ;  from  northern 
and  southern  sections,  233 ;  from 
city  and  rural  high  schools,  236; 
for  all  boys  and  girls  compared, 
272. 

General  course,  per  cent  complet- 
ing, 144 ;  general  level  of  intelli- 
gence of  seniors  taking,  145 ; 
range  of  intelligence  of  seniors 
completing,  146-148 ;  grade  of 
intelligence  found  in  this  course- 
group,  149  ;  per  cent  completing, 
who  were  accelerated  and  re- 
tarded by  school,  152-153 ;  per 
cent  completing,  going  to  college, 
154-155 ;  dullest  seniors  found 
in,  147,  157. 

Geographical  distribution,  of 
brightest  seniors,  258-260 ;  of 
schools  represented  in  survey, 
260. 

Girls,  general  level  of  intelligence 
compared  with  boys,  19,  270— 
273 ;  duller  girls  better  able  to 
survive  in  high  school,  273,  276- 
277;  college  intention,  273; 
more  rapidly  advanced  in  school 
than  boys,  278 ;  scholastic  inter- 


INDEX 


363 


eats  of  girls  compared  with  boys, 
282-286;  favorite  study  and 
course  of  brightest  girls,  285 ; 
high  school  course  better  adapted 
to  needs  and  interests  of  girls, 
72-79,  81-82,  85,  91,  112,  182, 
273,  276,  279-280,  297-298,  307- 
308. 

Grades  of  intelligence,  found  among 
high  school  seniors,  22-23,  51 ; 
probable  value  of  these  various 
grades,  22-23  ;  possessed  by  sen- 
iors going  to  college,  32-39 ;  col- 
lege intention  of  seniors  possess- 
ing various,  38 ;  possessed  by 
seniors  accelerated,  retarded,  and 
regularly  promoted,  59-64 ;  pos- 
sessed by  seniors  making  an  ex- 
cellent, average,  and  poor  scholas- 
tic record,  100-103 ;  possessed  by 
seniors  selecting  different  occu- 
pational careers,  130-134;  pos- 
sessed by  seniors  pursuing  dif- 
ferent courses  in  high  school,  149, 
168 ;  possessed  by  seniors  rep- 
resenting different  occupational 
groups,  198;  possessed  by  sen- 
iors belonging  to  different  eco- 
nomic classes,  217-219 ;  distri- 
bution of,  in  individual  schools, 
254-258,  266;  all  types  and 
grades  important,  317-320,  323. 

Group  differences  in  intelligence, 
their  importance,  221,  244 ; 
kinds,  222-223,  244-254;  prac- 
tical significance,  266-268,  328. 

Group  intelligence  tests,  their  value 
and  uses,  331-346 ;  their  limita- 
tions, 258-259. 

Groups,  occupational  groups  rep- 
resented in  senior  classes,  123, 
186 ;  economic  groups  having 
representatives  in  high  school, 
210 ;  various  favorite-study 
groups,  whose  intelligence  was 
compared,  159;  various  com- 
munity groups  studied  and  com- 
pared :  sectional,  228 ;  city  and 


rural,  234 ;  agricultural,  manu- 
facturing, and  mining,  238 ;  best 
and  worst  economic  sectional 
groups,  241 ;  groups  retarded 
and  accelerated,  46 ;  various 
scholastic  groups,  93 ;  per  cent 
of  seniors  belonging  to  various 
scholastic  groups,  96. 
Gymnasium,  185. 

Haggerty,  M.  E.,  317. 

High  school,  democratic  appeal  of, 
6,  188,  206;  American  high 
school  not  truly  democratic, 
188,  207,  305-307,  320,  322 ;  bet- 
ter adapted  to  interests  of  the 
girls,  72-79,  81-82,  85,  91,  112, 
182,  273,  276,  279-280,  291,  297- 
298,  307-308,  316-317;  ill  ad- 
justment worse  in,  86,  90,  298; 
not  conserving  talents  and  ca- 
pacities of  brightest  seniors,  66, 
83,  86-91,  301;  high  school 
course  selected  by  boys,  284 ; 
by  girls,  284 ;  not  adapting  its 
work  to  inequalities  in  mental 
strength  of  students,  87,  110- 
111,  259,  296-298;  not  meeting 
adequately  the  vocational  needs 
of  its  students,  115-116,  138- 
139,  182-183,  302-304;  differ- 
ent types  of  curricula  given  in 
Indiana  high  school,  143 ;  im- 
portance of  high  school  curricu- 
lum, 183-184 ;  types  developed 
in  different  countries,  185  ;  high 
schools  really  class  schools,  322. 

High  school  course,  demands  spe- 
cial type  of  mental  ability  for  suc- 
cess, 294-295,  305-306;  send- 
ing most  students  to  college,  153  ; 
its  effect  on  college  intention  and 
selection  of  college  course,  154 ; 
pursued  by  seniors  accelerated 
and  retarded  by  school,  149-153  ; 
selected  by  brightest  seniors, 
148 ;  number  of  seniors  graduat- 
ing from  each  type  of  course, 


364 


INDEX 


144 ;  and  college  intention,  154- 
156 ;  showing  widest  range  in 
intelligence,  157 ;  containing 
largest  number  of  seniors  accel- 
erated and  retarded,  157;  sending 
most  students  to  college,  157 ; 
should  be  extended  to  meet  needs 
of  all  types  of  students  who  at- 
tend, 322. 

High  school  seniors,  a  select  group, 
293-295.  (See  also  Seniors.) 

History,  number  of  seniors  se- 
lecting as  favorite  study,  160 ; 
intelligence  of  seniors  preferring 
this  subject,  161-166 ;  sex  differ- 
ences among  group  selecting, 
165-166,  168-174  ;  effect  on  col- 
lege intention,  176-177,  180. 

Homemaking,  number  selecting  as 
life  occupation,  123  ;  intelligence 
of  this  occupational  group,  125- 
126,  128-129. 

Human  engineering,  new  science  of, 
353. 

Individual  diagnosis,  value  of  in- 
telligence tests  for  making,  331, 
333,  339. 

Individual  differences  (see  Differ- 
ences). 

Individual  schools,  variations  in 
intelligence  of  senior  classes  in, 
245-254 ;  distribution  of  various 
grades  of  intelligence  in,  254- 
258;  differences  between,  263- 
266. 

Intelligence  of  seniors,  graduating 
from  Indiana  high  schools,  18- 
,23 ;  going  to  college,  27 ;  going 
to  technical  colleges,  31 ;  going 
to  liberal  arts  colleges,  30-31, 
33-35 ;  accelerated,  retarded, 
and  regularly  promoted  by  the 
school,  46,  54-71 ;  boys  and 
girls  accelerated  and  retarded  by 
the  school,  72-83 ;  making  an 
excellent,  average,  and  poor  scho- 
lastic record,  93-110;  who  had 


selected  their  life  occupation, 
116;  selecting  different  occupa- 
tional careers,  113,  122-142; 
pursuing  different  courses  in 
high  school,  143-158 ;  preferring 
different  high  school  subjects, 
159-184 ;  representing  different 
occupational  classes,  185-207 ; 
representing  different  economic 
groups,  209-220;  coining  from 
different  communities  and  schools, 
221-268 ;  in  schools  of  different 
sizes  or  ranks,  224-228;  coming 
from  schools  of  same  size  or  rank, 
243-252  ;  coming  from  schools  in 
northern,  central  and  southern 
sections,  228-233 ;  representing 
rural  and  city  high  schools,  234- 
238 ;  from  schools  located  in 
purely  agricultural,  manufactur- 
ing, and  mining  communities, 
238-241 ;  from  the  best  and 
worst  economic  sections  of  the 
state,  241-242 ;  boys  and  girls 
compared,  8,  269 ;  relation  to 
school  success,  93,  108-109;  no 
guarantee  of  school  success,  309  ; 
differences  in  intelligence  of  va- 
rious groups,  221-223 ;  value  of 
accurate  intelligence  rating,  3-4 ; 
grades  found  among  high  school 
seniors,  23 ;  all  grades  impor- 
tant, 317-320,  323;  intelligence 
scale  used  in  this  survey,  10. 

Intelligence  scale,  individual  tests 
composing  scale  used  in  this  sur- 
vey, 10;  its  reliability,  10-11; 
changes  made  in  original  scale,  1 1 . 

Intelligence  tests,  value  and  uses, 
331-347 ;  used  as  college  en- 
trance examination,  94. 

Journalism,  number  of  seniors  se- 
lecting, as  life  occupation,  123 ; 
intelligence  of  this  occupational 
group,  124-129,  135;  per  cent 
selecting  this  occupation  going 
to  college,  137-138. 


INDEX 


365 


Laborers  (see  Day  laborers). 

Language  (see   Foreign  language). 

Lawyer,  number  of  seniors  expect- 
ing to  enter  legal  profession,  125 ; 
intelligence  of  this  occupational 
group,  124-129,  133;  per  cent 
of  prospective  lawyers  going  to 
college,  137,  318. 

Level  of  intelligence  of  high  school 
seniors,  18 ;  going  to  college,  29  ; 
accelerated,  retarded,  and  regu- 
larly promoted,  56-59 ;  making 
an  excellent,  average,  and  poor 
scholastic  record  in  school,  96— 
99 ;  who  had  selected  their  life 
occupations,  117-121 ;  select- 
ing different  occupational  ca- 
reers, 125-126 ;  completing  dif- 
ferent types  of  high  school  course, 
144—146 ;  selecting  different  fa- 
vorite studies,  160-162 ;  repre- 
senting different  occupational 
classes,  185 ;  belonging  to  differ- 
ent economic  groups,  211-213; 
boys  and  girls  compared,  270- 
292;  how  determined,  18-19, 
29,  31 ;  number  at  each  intelli- 
gence level,  23. 

Liberal  arts  colleges,  general  intel- 
ligence of  seniors  selecting  liberal 
arts  colleges  compared  with  that 
of  seniors  selecting  a  technical 
college,  30-31,  34-36,  38-39. 

Locating  the  brightest  seniors,  1, 
295,  296,  333-334. 

Lycee,  185. 

Manufacturing  districts,  rank  high 
in  intelligence,  238,  241,  262. 

Materials  and  method  of  survey,  10. 

Mathematics,  mental  rating  of 
students  preferring  mathematics, 
161-164,  167;  sex  differences, 
165-166,  168-174,  178;  gener- 
ally preferred  by  the  boys,  178. 

Median  score,  for  state  or  stand- 
ard group,  19 ;  for  senior  boys 
and  girls,  19 ;  for  group  going  to 


liberal  arts  colleges,  32 ;  per 
cent  of  boys  and  girls  making 
scores  above  state  median,  76 ; 
per  cent  selecting  different  life 
occupations,  making  score  above 
state  median,  126 ;  for  seniors 
completing  various  types  of  high 
school  course,  146 ;  for  senior 
classes  in  different  individual 
schools  of  same  size,  248 ;  per 
cent  in  different  high  schools 
making  scores  above  state  me- 
dian, 248,  254. 

Medicine  (see  also  Physician),  in- 
telligence of  seniors  selecting 
medicine  as  life  occupation,  281. 

Mental  ability  (see  also  Intelli- 
gence) ,  different  grades  possessed 
by  high  school  seniors,  20-23. 

Mental  strength,  of  seniors  whom 
the  college  attracts,  3,  29-36; 
inequalities  in  mental  strength 
of  the  representatives  from  dif- 
ferent occupational  groups  sig- 
nificant, 207. 

Mental  survey,  aim  of  the  survey, 
7 ;  method  used,  10 ;  practical 
value,  uses  and  need  of,  42—45, 
268,  331-346 ;  scope  of  the  pres- 
ent survey,  14-17 ;  when  tests 
were  given,  13 ;  needed  to  give 
proper  vocational  and  educa- 
tional guidance,  44 ;  value  for 
determining  adjustment  of  school 
to  individual  differences,  339- 
340 ;  needed  to  evaluate  and 
measure  school  accomplishment, 
340-343;  to  locate  and  pre- 
scribe for  mental  defectives  and 
moral  delinquents,  343-345 ;  to 
conserve  human  talents  in  busi- 
ness and  industry,  345-346;  to 
aid  social  workers,  346 ;  materi- 
als and  scales  available  for,  351— 
353  ;  a  means  for  conserving  and 
cultivating  the  capacities  and 
talents  of  all  the  people  of  a  state, 
268. 


366 


INDEX 


Mental  tests,  an  aid  in  locating 
brightest  pupils,  334 ;  in  locat- 
ing the  mentally  deficient,  335 ; 
an  aid  to  promotion,  335  ;  an  aid 
in  determining  causes  of  school 
failure,  335,  338-339 ;  an  aid  to 
better  educational  diagnosis  and 
direction,  337-338. 

Method,  of  present  survey,  10 ;  of 
giving  the  mental  tests,  12;  of 
tabulating  and  scoring  results, 
27,  137,  186,  209,  224 ;  of  evalu- 
ating and  presenting  our  data 
and  results,  vi,  14-17,  20-21,  47- 
48,  137 ;  needed  to  evaluate 
school  accomplishment,  309,  329  ; 
of  studying  relation  between  in- 
telligence and  school  success,  95- 
96 ;  of  studying  relation  between 
intelligence  and  school  progress, 
55 ;  of  studying  relation  between 
intelligence  and  vocational  and 
scholastic  interests  of  high  school 
seniors,  115;  of  determining  in- 
telligence possessed  by  seniors 
selecting  different  occupations, 
122;  of  determining  intelligence 
of  seniors  with  different  scholas- 
tic interests,  159 ;  of  studying 
sectional  and  group  differences, 
223-224 ;  of  determining  sex  dif- 
ferences, 269. 

Mining  districts  rank  low  in  intelli- 
gence, 238,  241,  262. 

Ministry,  number  choosing  this  as 
their  life  occupation,  123  ;  intel- 
ligence of  this  occupational  group, 
124,  126-127,  129,  132 ;  per  cent 
choosing  this  occupation  going 
to  college,  137-138. 

Moral  delinquents,  their  location 
and  treatment,  343-344. 

Musician,  number  selecting  this 
occupation  as  life  career,  123 ; 
intelligence  of  this  group,  125- 
126,  128-129,  135. 

Nursing,  number  selecting  as  life 


occupation,  123 ;  intelligence  rat- 
ing of  this  occupational  group, 
125-126,  128-129,  134. 

Occupations,  various  life  occupa- 
tions selected  by  high  school  sen- 
iors, 121 ;  number  choosing  dif- 
ferent standard  occupations,  123, 
137-138,  140 ;  chosen  by  bright- 
est and  dullest  boys,  121,  128, 
141,  281 ;  variations  in  intelli- 
gence of  seniors  selecting  same 
occupation,  130,  281-282;  cho- 
sen without  a  knowledge  of  abil- 
ity required  for  success,  282 ; 
method  of  studying  occupational 
interests,  115;  extent  to  which 
seniors  are  preparing  for  occupa- 
tions chosen,  134-139,  142; 
relation  between  choice  of  an  oc- 
cupation •  and  college  intention, 
137 ;  relation  between  favorite 
study  and  occupation  chosen, 
174-176. 

Otis,  317. 

Percentile,  various  percentile  scores 
made  by  high  school  seniors,  20. 

Percentile  curves  for  seniors,  going 
and  not  going  to  college,  30 ; 
accelerated  and  retarded  in  high 
school,  59 ;  who  had  and  had  not 
selected  their  life  occupation, 
1 19 ;  boys  and  girls  represent- 
ing professional  and  farmer 
groups,  195 ;  from  northern  and 
southern  sections  of  the  state, 
232  ;  representing  city  and  coun- 
try high  schools,  237 ;  coming 
from  pure  manufacturing,  agri- 
cultural, and  mining  districts, 
241 ;  boys  and  girls  compared, 
270. 

Physician,  number  of  seniors  se- 
lecting this  occupation,  123  ;  in- 
telligence rating  of  this  occupa- 
tional group,  124-129,  133;  per 
cent  of  prospective  physicians 


INDEX 


367 


planning  to  go  to  college,  137- 
138. 

Pintner,  Rudolph,  46,  105. 

Point  of  view,  change  needed  in 
present  educational,  312-315. 

Pressey,  L.  W.,  46,  82,  317,  352. 

Pressey,  S.  L.,  10,  94,  106,  190,  223, 
352. 

Prevocational  work,  need  for,  183- 

Professional  class,  number  of  sen- 
iors coming  from,  188 ;  general 
level  of  intelligence  of  seniors 
representing,  192-195 ;  range  of 
intelligence  of  this  group,  194- 
198 ;  number  of  seniors  in  group 
scoring  at  each  intelligence  level, 
198-200 ;  sex  differences  for  this 
occupational  group,  193,  195, 
203 ;  has  about  normal  quota 
in  high  school,  189 ;  furnished 
brightest  seniors  in  state,  196, 
205. 

Prognosticating  school  success,  107, 
334-336. 

Psychological  tests,  their  value  as 
a  means  of  conserving  and  de- 
veloping individual  capacities 
and  talents,  v,  vi,  331-346. 

Purpose,  chief  purpose  of  study,  1, 
315 ;  of  education  in  a  democ- 
racy, 312^.5,  317-318. 

Range  of  intelligence,  among  high 
school  seniors,  19 ;  among  sen- 
iors going  to  college,  32 ;  among 
seniors  accelerated,  retarded,  and 
regularly  promoted  by  school, 
64-66 ;  of  senior  boys  and  girls 
accelerated  and  retarded  one  or 
more  years,  75-77 ;  of  seniors 
rated  excellent,  average,  and  poor 
in  their  school  work,  98-99 ;  sen- 
iors selecting  same  "and  different 
occupational  careers,  130-134, 
141-142 ;  of  seniors  completing 
different  types  of  curricula,  146 ; 
of  seniors  preferring  different 
high  school  studies,  162-166, 


171-174 ;  of  seniors  represent- 
ing different  occupational  classes, 
194 ;  of  seniors  representing  dif- 
ferent economic  groups,  213- 
217. 

Rank,  of  high  schools  tested,  224 ; 
intelligence  rating  of  senior 
classes  in  schools  of  different 
ranks,  225-228 ;  rank  of  schools 
containing  brightest  seniors,  228 ; 
intelligence  of  seniors  from 
schools  of  same  size  and  rank, 
243-251. 

Readjustments  suggested  by  facts 
of  survey,  for  college  instruction 
and  administration,  41-42 ;  for 
education  in  general,  311-330; 
for  dealing  with  those  possess- 
ing inferior  grades  of  ability, 
318-320. 
Reforms  suggested  by  survey,  311- 

330. 

Report,  special  reports  on  mental 
examination  received  from  high 
schools,  13. 

Research,  need  for  cooperative  and 
systematic,  348 ;  value  of  organ- 
ized and  cooperative  effort  in. 
349 ;  need  of  financial  support 
for,  351 ;  role  of  university  in, 
350. 

Results  of  the  state-wide  mental 
survey,  18—292 ;  summarized, 
293-309 ;  nature  and  scope  of 
results,  14-17. 

Retardation,  number  of  high  school 
seniors  retarded  by  school,  49- 
51 ;  intelligence  of  mental  rating 
of  those  retarded,  54-71 ;  per 
cent  possessing  each  grade  of  in- 
telligence retarded  by  school, 
60-72. 
Rice,  Emmett  A.,  57,  104,  105, 

106. 

Rural  schools,  intelligence  of  sen- 
iors representing,  234-235 ;  more 
bright  seniors  come  from  rural 
and  agricultural  districts,  235- 


368 


INDEX 


237.  241,  243;  number  of  sen- 
iors from,  scoring  at  each  intel- 
ligence level,  236 ;  range  of  in- 
telligence of  seniors  in,  237. 

Salesmen  and  clerks,  number  of 
representatives  in  senior  classes, 
188 ;  general  level  of  intelligence 
of  seniors  representing  this  occu- 
pational group,  192-193 ;  range 
of  intelligence  of  seniors  coming 
from  this  occupational  class,  194, 
198 ;  sex  differences  for  group, 
193 ;  have  about  their  normal 
quota  in  high  school,  189. 

Scholastic  interest,  sex  differences 
in,  168,  282-286 ;  of  high  school 
seniors,  159-160;  effect  upon 
college  intention,  176 ;  effect 
upon  choice  of  an  occupation, 
174  ;  of  brightest  and  dullest  sen- 
iors, 162 ;  individual  differences, 
304-305. 

School  accomplishment,  need  for 
new  method  of  evaluating,  89, 
92,  329-330,  340-343. 

School  progress,  boys  with  supe- 
rior grades  of  intelligence  accel- 
erated less  in  high  school  than 
girls  with  lower  intelligence  rat- 
ings, 52,  76,  83 ;  relation  be- 
tween intelligence  and,  46-92, 
296,  301. 

School  success,  factors  important 
for  determining,  94,  106-110, 
112;  relation  to  native  mental 
endowment,  94 ;  relation  to  in- 
telligence, 94-95,  107-109,  309; 
prognosticating  school  success, 
107,  334-336;  mental  survey 
needed  to  determine  causes  for 
school  failure  and  success,  45 ; 
causes  for  failure  and  success  in 
school,  88. 

Science,  goal  or  aim  of  all  science, 
311;  intelligence  of  seniors  pre- 
ferring science  as  favorite  study, 
161-167 ;  sex  differences  in  sen- 


iors selecting,  165-166,  168-174, 
178. 

Scientific  course,  per  cent  of  sen- 
iors graduating  from,  144  ;  gen- 
eral level  of  intelligence  of  sen- 
iors taking,  145,  148,  152 ;  range 
of  intelligence  of  seniors  complet- 
ing, 146-149 ;  per  cent  com- 
pleting, going  to  college,  154- 
155  ;  per  cent  completing,  accel- 
erated and  retarded  by  school, 
152 ;  frequency  curve  for  seniors 
completing,  150. 

Scientists,  number  of  seniors  select- 
ing this  occupation  as  life  career, 
123 ;  intelligence  rating  of  this 
occupational  group,  124-127, 129, 
131,  133  ;  per  cent  of  prospective 
scientists  going  to  college,  137- 
138. 

Score  (mental  test  score  of  middle 
50  per  cent)  of  boys  and  girls  ac- 
celerated and  retarded  by  the 
school,  73-74 ;  going  to  college 
and  colleges  of  different  kinds, 
31 ;  of  various  age  and  semester 
groups,  56 ;  belonging  to  each 
scholastic  group,  97 ;  of  seniors 
selecting  different  occupational 
careers,  124-125  ;  of  seniors  com- 
pleting each  type  of  high  school 
course,  145 ;  of  seniors  select- 
ing different  favorite  studies, 
161 ;  of  boys  and  girls  prefer- 
ring different  high  school  sub- 
jects, 169-170 ;  of  seniors  from 
different  individual  schools,  249- 
252 ;  score  for  individual  schools 
located  in  same  county,  255 ; 
percentile  scores  for  boys  and 
girls  compared,  270 ;  intelligence 
score  no  criterion  for  school  suc- 
cess, 94-95,  107-109,  309. 

Sectional  differences,  228-233,  261- 
263 ;  northern  section  of  state 
ranks  highest  on  intelligence 
tests,  229-231;  and  for  every 
level  of  ability,  232;  grades  of 


INDEX 


369 


intelligence  of  seniors  from 
northern  and  southern  sections 
compared,  233,  261-263. 

Semester  groups,  percentile  curves 
for,  58 ;  frequency  curves  for, 
62;  range  of  intelligence  of,  65- 
66. 

Seniors  (high  school),  a  highly  se- 
lected group  of  individuals,  25- 
26,  293 ;  number  at  various  in- 
telligence levels,  18 ;  number 
possessing  superior,  average,  and 
inferior  grades  of  intelligence,  51 ; 
number  accelerated,  retarded, 
and  regularly  promoted,  48 ; 
number  belonging  to  each  occu- 
pational class,  187 ;  number  in 
each  occupational  group  scoring 
at  various  intelligence  levels, 
130 ;  number  in  each  economic 
group  scoring  at  various  intelli- 
gence levels,  217-219 ;  general 
level  of  intelligence  of,  18 ;  range 
in  intelligence  of,  19;  intelli- 
gence of  seniors  going  to  college, 
27-40;  intelligence  of  seniors 
making  an  excellent,  average,  and 
poor  scholastic  record  in  high 
school,  93-112;  intelligence  of 
seniors  selecting  different  occu- 
pational careers,  122-142 ;  range 
of  intelligence  of  seniors  selecting 
same  life  occupations,  282 ;  ex- 
tent to  which  seniors  are  pre- 
paring for  occupations  chosen, 
134  ;  intelligence  of  seniors  pur- 
suing different  courses  in  high 
school,  143-158 ;  intelligence  of 
seniors  preferring  different  favor- 
ite studies,  159-184  ;  studies  pre- 
ferred by  brightest  and  dullest 
seniors,  162 ;  intelligence  of  sen- 
iors belonging  to  each  occu- 
pational class,  187-208 ;  intelli- 
gence of  seniors  representing  dif- 
ferent economic  classes,  209-220 , 
intelligence  of  seniors  coming 
from  different  communities  and 


schools,  221-257 ;  individual  dif- 
ferences among,  19,  295 ;  bright- 
est seniors  not  going  to  college, 
36-37,  298;  distribution  of  sen- 
iors with  most  superior  grades 
of  ability,  258-259,  295 ;  bright- 
est seniors  not  accelerated  by 
school,  66,  69,  84-85 ;  scholastic 
interests  of,  159-160 ;  per  cent 
choosing  different  life  occupa- 
tions making  highest  and  low- 
est intelligence  scores,  127-128 ; 
number  of  seniors  selecting  va- 
rious high  school  subjects  as 
their  favorite  study,  160 ;  intel- 
ligence of  seniors  from  agricul- 
tural, manufacturing,  and  purely 
mining  districts  compared,  238- 
243 ;  intelligence  of  boys  and 
girls  compared,  269-292. 
Sex  differences,  among  high  school 
seniors,  19  ;  importance  of,  269 ; 
in  native  mental  endowment, 
270-273,  283;  in  college  inten- 
tion, 273-276 ;  in  progress  made 
in  school,  72-82 ;  in  school  suc- 
cess, 72-82,  93-106,  276-280; 
in  vocational  interest,  280-282 ; 
in  scholastic  interests,  165—166, 
168-174,  286,  290-291;  within 
same  occupational  group,  286— 
288 ;  among  individuals  belong- 
ing to  same  economic  group,  212- 
216,  286-288;  among  seniors 
representing  different  communi- 
ties and  individual  high  schools, 
289  ;  more  girls  than  boys  gradu- 
ating from  Indiana  high  schools, 
270 ;  more  ^boys  come  from 
wealthy  homes,  287-288;  more 
girls  coming  from  poorer  eco- 
nomic group  attend  high  school, 
287-288;  boys  from  wealthiest 
parents  rank  higher  on  intelli- 
gence tests,  288,  292 ;  why  more 
girls  than  boys  graduate  from 
high  school,  290 ;  fundamental 
sex  difference  in  mental  capacity 


370 


INDEX 


suggested  by  results,  285-286, 
291 ;  more  bright  boys  than 
girls  retarded,  76 ;  high  school 
courses  selected  by  boys  and 
girls,  144 ;  per  cent  of  senior 
boys  and  girls  completing  each 
type  of  course  going  to  college, 
154-157 ;  favorite  studies  se- 
lected by  brightest  boys,  165 ; 
by  brightest  girls,  166 ;  intelli- 
gence of  boys  and  girls  prefer- 
ring same  high  school  subject, 
172-180 ;  among  seniors  com- 
ing from  different  occupational 
classes,  201-203,  205;  among 
seniors  representing  various  eco- 
nomic groups,  216-220. 

Situation  revealed  by  the  survey, 
293-310. 

Skilled  mechanic,  number  of  sen- 
iors choosing  this  occupation  as 
life  career,  123 ;  intelligence  of 
this  occupational  group,  124, 
126-129,  132-133;  per  cent  se- 
lecting this  occupation  going  to 
college,  137-138. 

Social  service  and  mental  surveys, 
346-347. 

Social  workers,  number  choosing 
this  occupation  as  life  career, 
123 ;  intelligence  of  this  occupa- 
tional group,  125-129 ;  interest 
of,  in  survey,  vi,  346-347. 

Standard,  used  to  evaluate  intelli- 
gence of  high  school  seniors,  18- 
19,  25 ;  developing  a  state  stand- 
ard for  high  school  seniors,  22- 
23  ;  record  made  on  mental  tests 
by  standard  group,  31 ;  true  ped- 
agogical standard  for  measuring 
school  accomplishment,  329-330. 

State  Board  of  Education,  survey 
made  with  authority  of,  vii ;  co- 
operated and  helped  to  collect 
all  data,  viii. 

Stern,  William,  105. 

Strayer,  D.  D.,  294. 

Subjects,  various  high  school  sub- 


jects chosen  as  favorite  studies 
by  seniors,  159. 

Summary,  of  facts  revealed  by  sur- 
vey, 293-310 ;  on  intelligence 
and  college  intention,  39-40 ;  on 
intelligence  and  school  progress, 
83-86  ;  on  intelligence  and  school 
success,  109—112;  on  intelligence 
and  choice  of  a  life  career,  139- 
142 ;  on  intelligence  and  choice 
of  a  high  school  course,  156-158 ; 
on  intelligence  of  seniors  repre- 
senting different  occupational 
groups,  203-208 ;  on  relation  be- 
tween intelligence  and  economic 
status,  219-225 ;  on  intelligence 
of  seniors  representing  different 
communities  and  schools,  260- 
268 ;  on  sex  differences  in  scho- 
lastic interest,  173-174 ;  on  in- 
telligence of  seniors  preferring 
different  high  school  subjects, 
177-181 ;  of  relation  between 
occupation  and  intelligence,  203 ; 
on  relation  between  economic 
status  and  intelligence,  219-220; 
on  sectional,  group,  and  com- 
munity differences,  260-268. 

Survey  (see  Mental  survey). 

Talents  (see  also  Conservation), 
conservation  of  human  capaci- 
ties and  talents,  311-330. 

Teacher,  number  of  seniors  select- 
ing teaching  as  life  career,  123 ; 
relative  standing  on  mental  test 
of  this  occupational  group,  124- 
130,  133-134;  per  cent  of  pro- 
spective teachers  going  to  col- 
lege, 137-138. 

Terman,  L.  M.,  106,  294,  306. 

Uses  of  intelligence  tests  for,  indi- 
vidual diagnoses,  331-338 ;  grade 
•  classification,  333 ;  educational 
diagnoses  and  guidance,  335- 
338;  locating  brightest  pupils 
for  special  educational  treat- 


INDEX 


371 


ment,  333 ;  prognosticating 
school  success,  107,  334 ;  voca- 
tional guidance,  5-6,  325,  336- 
337 ;  determining  causes  of 
school  failure,  338 ;  evaluating 
school  accomplishment,  342 ; 
making  school  and  community 
surveys,  343-345 ;  locating  men- 
tal and  moral  delinquents,  343- 
344 ;  conserving  human  capaci- 
ties and  talents  in  business  and 
industry,  345-346  ;  determining 
human  resources  of  a  commu- 
nity or  state,  343  ;  making  group 
diagnoses,  340-342 ;  to  deter- 
mine adjustment  of  school  to  in- 
dividual differences,  339 ;  to 
study  retardation,  340 ;  measur- 
ing school  accomplishment,  341- 
343 ;  for  location  and  treatment 
of  feebleminded,  344-345. 

Variations,  in  mental  ability  of 
senior  classes  in  individual  high 
schools,  257.  (See  also  Grades 
of  ability,  Frequency  curves,  and 
Range  of  intelligence.) 

Vocational  course,  number  of  sen- 
iors pursuing,  144  ;  general  level 
of  intelligence  of  seniors  complet- 
ing, 145-149 ;  range  of  intelli- 
gence of  this  course-group,  146- 


147;  frequency  curves  for  those 
completing  a,  151 ;  college  inten- 
tion of  this  course-group,  154- 
155 ;  seniors  selecting  a  voca- 
tional course  ranked  lowest  on 
the  intelligence  tests,  146,  156 ; 
per  cent  pursuing,  who  were  ac- 
celerated and  retarded,  152, 
156. 

Vocational  guidance,  kind  and 
amount  needed,  5 ;  need  for,  6, 
44,  139-142,  203-304,  323-328, 
338  ;  value  of  intelligence  rating 
for,  5-6,  325 ;  its  difficulty,  324- 
326. 

Vocational  needs  of  individuals 
and  state  not  adequately  met, 
302-304. 

Vocational  subjects  number  pre- 
ferring vocational  studies,  160 ; 
intelligence  of  seniors  selecting 
as  favorite  study,  161-165 ;  sex 
differences,  165-166,  168-174 ; 
those  preferring  rank  lowest  on 
the  mental  tests,  181. 

Vocational  training,  need  for,  322- 
323. 

Waste  of  human  capacities  and  tal- 
ents, 44,  336-337. 
Williams,  Oscar  H.,  ix,  1,  12. 
Workers  (see  Clerical  workers). 


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